THE SECOND COMING, 
THE JUDGMENT, 

AND 

THE KINGDOM OE CHRIST: 

BEING 

LECTURES 

DELIVERED DURING LENT, 1843, 

AT ST. GEORGE'S, BLOOMSBURY. 

23g ®Mbz ariergsmnx of t&e OWjutcS of lEnglantf- 

WITH A PREFACE, 

BY THE REV. EDWARD BICKERSTETH, 

RECTOR OF WATTON. —~— 

SECOND EDITION. 
LONDON: 

JAMES NISBET AND CO., 21, BERNERS STREET; 

HATCHARD AND SON, PICCADILLY ; SEELEY, BURNSIDE, AND SEELEY, FLEET- 
STREET ; AND HAMILTON, ADAMS, & CO., PATERNOSTER-ROW. 

M DCCC XLIV. 



MACINTOSH, PRINTER, 
GREAT NEW STREET, LONDON. 



oP Cohorts 



was^ 



PREFACE. 



The following Lectures were preached by the twelve 
clergymen whose names are attached to each, during 
the season of Lent in this year (1843), at St. George's, 
Bloomsbury, and were listened to by crowded and 
attentive congregations. 

The second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ is 
allowed by all Christians to be a subject of unspeakable 
importance. The certainty of it is with them an 
unquestionable fact. It comes into every creed of the 
Church. It is continually set before us in the Scrip- 
tures as the great object of hope, and the great event 
to prepare for which our thoughts, and words, and 
works, should be constantly directed. There needs, 
then, no apology for this united effort to call the 
attention of the Church of Christ to this all-important 
event. 

The course of events connected with our Lord's 
return, and the order in which they shall occur, have 
occasioned, as might be expected, more differences of 
opinion. There are, however, on this part of the sub- 
ject, many grounds of union and harmony among all 
Christians, and increasing light may be expected as 
the day approaches. 

A 2 



PREFACE. 



The exact period of that coming is more veiled from 
us in the intended hiddenness of prophecy : our Lord has 
assured us, of that day and hour hnoweth no man, no, 
not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. Yet he 
has directed us on this very account always to watch, and 
has warned us against the peril of saying, My Lord 
delayeth his coming. He has also led us to hope, that the 
words of the hook are only shut up and sealed to the time 
of the end, when many shall run to and fro, and know- 
ledge shall be increased. 

It is our hope, that this may he one of the hlessed 
effects of this Course of Lectures. It is highly gratifying 
to see on how many important principles the brethren who 
preached them are entirely agreed. They all expect a 
Millennium yet to come ; they all look for the personal 
coming of our Lord before that Millennium; they all 
believe the political restoration of Israel to their own land. 
They look for the first resurrection, and glory of the 
saints at the coming of our Lord before the Millennium. 

There is thus a remarkable general agreement without 
previous knowledge of what had been said or would be 
said by each other. May these great truths be estab- 
lished in the mind of the reader, out of the mouths of the 
witnesses here testifying to them. 

No doubt there are minor differences, as there ever 
have been, among the most Orthodox and Evangelical 
Christians, who equally hold the great and fundamental 
principles of the Gospel of the grace of God; but this 
should the more confirm, with a considerate mind, the great 
truths in which there is so much real unanimity, giving 
to them all the strength of independent and separate 
testimony. As to those minor differences, each testimony 



PREFACE. 



V 



must stand on its own evidence ; and one is not to be held 
responsible for the sentiments of another, which he has 
not himself avowed. 

We are encouraged by the Apostle Peter to take heed 
to the sure word of prophecy as unto a light shining in a 
dark place. The darkness seems increasing, the conflict 
thickening, the dangers of mistake multiplying ; all are in 
perplexity : Oh that it might please God, in these perilous 
times, to lead his people to take and follow this light, 
which dispels the present darkness and cheers them with 
the approaching beams of a heavenly day. 

The signs of the times, apart from all prophecy, are 
compelling every one's attention. It is clear that every- 
thing is shaking, that those things which cannot be shaken 
may remain. Spiritual, holy, heavenly things cannot be 
shaken. The kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, 
and joy in the Holy Ghost. May we follow after these 
things ! Receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, 
let us have grace whereby we may serve God acceptably 
with reverence and godly fear ; for our God is a con- 
suming fire. 

Believing that these Lectures are much calculated to 
promote the reader's edification, I have great pleasure in 
complying with the request of my brethren in prefixing 
these remarks. They were blessed of God to those who 
heard them ; may they be much blessed to the good of 
all who shall now read them. 

EDWARD BICKERSTETH. 

Walton Rectory, Herts, June 17, 1843. 



CONTENTS. 



LECTURE I.— p. 1. 

THE CERTAINTY, NATURE, AND SCRIPTURAL PROMINENCE 
OF THE SECOND ADVENT. 

BY THE HON. AND REV. H. MONTAGU VILLIERS, M.A., 

RECTOR OF ST. GEORGE'S, BLOOMSBURY. 

Acts i. 11 — " This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall 
so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven." 



LECTURE II.— p. 21. 

THE ACTUAL NEGLECT OF THE SECOND ADVENT. 

BY THE REV. EDWARD AURIOL, M.A., 

RECTOR OF ST. DDNSTAN'S IN THE WEST, LONDON. 

Matthew xxv. 5. — " While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and 
slept." 



LECTURE III.— p. 41. 

THE DOCTRINE OF THE NEW TESTAMENT ON THE TIME OF 
THE SECOND ADVENT. 

BY THE REV. WILLIAM PYM, M.A., 

VICAR OF WILJLIAN, HERTS. 

1 Thessalonians v. 1 — 6. — " But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye 
have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that 
the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall 
say, Peace and safety ; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as 
travail upon a woman with child ; and they shall not escape. But ye, 
brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. 
Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day : we are not of 
the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others ; but 
let us watch and be sober." 



LECTURE IV.— p. 68. 

THE DOCTRINE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT ON THE TIME OF 
THE SECOND ADVENT. 

BY THE REV. C. J. GOODHART, M.A., 

MINISTER OF ST. MARY'S CHAPEL, READING. 

Zechariah xiv. 5.-—" And the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints 
with thee." 



CONTENTS. 



vii 



LECTURE V.— p. 85. 

THE DELAY OF THE SECOND ADVENT, ITS CAUSES AND 
PRACTICAL LESSONS. 

BY THE REV. W. DALTON, A.M., 

INCUMBENT OF ST. PAUL'S CHURCH, WOLVERHAMPTON. 

2 Peter iii. 9 — 1 1 " The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some 

men count slackness ; but is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any 
should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the 
Lord will come as a thief in the night ; in the which the heavens shall pass 
away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the 
earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing, then, 
that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to 
be in all holy conversation and godliness." 



LECTURE VI.— p. 109. 

THE SIGNS OF THE SECOND ADVENT IN THE STATE OF THE 
WORLD AT LARGE. 

BY THE REV. J. W. BROOKS, M.A., 

RECTOR OF EAST RETFORD. 

Luke xxi. 25—28. — "And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, 
and in the stars ; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity ; 
the sea and the waves roaring ; men's hearts failing them for fear, and for 
looking after those things which are coming on the earth : for the powers 
of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of Man coming 
in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to 
come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads ; for your redemption 
draweth nigh." 



LECTURE VII.— p. 153. 

THE FIRST RESURRECTION. 

BY THE REV. T. R. BIRKS, M. A., 

FELLOW OF TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE. 

Revelation xx. 6 " Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resur- 
rection : on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests 
of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years." 



LECTURE VIIL— p. 213. 

THE JUDGMENT OF THE LIVING. 

BY THE REV. ALEXANDER DALLAS, M.A., 

RECTOR OF WONSTON, HANTS. 

2 Timothy iv. 1 . — " Jesus Christ . . . shall judge the quick and the dead at 

his appearing and his kingdom." 
Matthew xxv. 31.—" When the Son of Man shall come in his glory, and all 
the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory." 



viii 



CONTENTS. 



LECTURE IX.— p. 248. 

THE GLORY OF ISRAEL AFTER THE ADVENT. 

BY THE REV. W. R. FREMANTLE, A.M., 

RECTOR OF CLAYDON, BUCKS. 

Isaiah lx. 19.—*' The Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy 
God thy glory." 



LECTURE X.— p. 283. 

THE JUDGMENT OF THE DEAD. 

BY THE REV. THOMAS HILL, B.D., 

PREBENDARY OF LICHFIELD, AND VICAR OF CHESTERFIELD. 

Revelation xx. 11, 12. — " And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat 
on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away ; and there was 
found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before 
God ; and the books were opened : and another book was opened, which is 
the book of life : and the dead were judged out of those things which were 
written in the books, according to their works." 



LECTURE XL— p. 309. 

THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST THE LORD IN ITS SUCCESSIVE STAGES 
AND IN ITS HEAVENLY GLORIES. 

BY THE REV. E. BICKERSTETH, 

RECTOR of watton. 

Revelation xxi. 22, 23, 24. — " And I saw no temple therein : for the Lord 
God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no 
need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it : for the glory of God 
did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light therof. And the nations of them 
which are saved shall walk in the light of it : and the kings of the earth do 
bring their glory and honour into it." 



LECTURE XII.— p. 349. 

THE DUTY OF PRAYER AND WATCHFULNESS IN THE PROSPECT 
OF THE LORD'S COMING. 

BY THE REV. JAMES HALDANE STEWART, M.A., 

INCUMBENT OF ST. BRIDE'S, LIVERPOOL. 

Revelation xvi. 15 " Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, 

and keepeth his garments." 



LECTURE I. 



THE CERTAINTY, NATURE, AND SCRIPTURAL 
PROMINENCE OF THE SECOND ADVENT. 



HON. AND REV. H. MONTAGU VILLIERS, M.A., 

RECTOR OF ST. GEORGE'S, BLOOMSBURY. 



Acts I. 11. 

' 4 This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into 
heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen 
him go into heaven." 

My Christian Friends, I feel it to be a very great privi- 
lege to address you on the present occasion. I am sure, 
that in giving you the opportunity of hearing a course of 
sermons on the prophetical portion of the Word of God, 
I am doing my own duty towards you as a minister, and 
I do heartily pray that these Lectures may he abundantly 
hlessed to the spiritual well-being of a beloved flock. 

B 



2 



CERTAINTY, NATURE, AND SCRIPTURAL 



The subject of prophecy is one which, I am thankful 
to say, is not altogether new to you. It ought not to be 
new to any Christian congregation. It is a subject which 
may he abused, and which has been abused, but it forms 
part of God's Word. The study is not forbidden ; — it is 
encouraged. The neglect is made a subject of warning, 
and a special blessing is promised to the study of that 
prophetical book, which is the revelation of Jesus Christ 
to St. John. 

I could, however, have wished that some Christian 
brother occupied my post on the present occasion ; for 
*:my parochial engagements are such, that I feel I can only 
give a brief outline of the important subject which has 
been allotted to me in this course of Lectures, instead of 
entering deeply into the points as they deserve. 

I am to direct your attention this evening to the 
certainty, the nature, and the scriptural prominence of 
the doctrine of the Second Advent of our blessed Lord 
and Saviour Jesus Christ. May the Spirit of God rest 
upon us ! May our eyes be enlightened, and our hearts 
enlarged, that we may receive the truth, and may grace 
be given unto us to watch for the return of our absent 
Lord ! 

Upon the first head of my subject, it will not be ne- 
cessary that I detain you for any great length of time. For 
it is an undoubted fact, that many persons come to right 
conclusions, in the matter of unfulfilled prophecy, who, 
nevertheless, are amongst the most eager in denouncing 
the propriety of making it a subject of study. So it is 
in the case before us. Many members of our own 
Church object to prophetical inquiry, while they do not 
hesitate, day after day, to repeat the Apostles' Creed, in 



PROMINENCE OF THE SECOND ADVENT. 3 

which we profess to believe that Jesus Christ shaU come 
to judge the quick and the dead. This, then, is belief in 
unfulfilled prophecy : and it surely cannot be deemed 
right to express our confidence in any truth which we 
cannot investigate. I say, investigate, for there are many 
truths which we must receive, though they be above the 
comprehension of our reason : but the duty of searching 
the Scriptures is incumbent upon all, and is one of the 
dearest privileges of a Protestant Church. Now if we 
investigate the truth of that article of the Creed, we are, 
in truth, studying unfuMlled prophecy. I may say, then, 
in limine, there is nothing so very presumptuous in 
venturing to expound the prophetical part of God's Word. 
Still I may be met by a reply, that the doctrine of 
Christ's coming to judgment is so plainly set forth, that 
none can deny its truth ; ^nd that is very different from 
diving into the deep things of God, such as the nature of 
that second coming. I admit the distinction ; I deny 
the force of the argument. The inquiry may be under- 
taken in an improper spirit. Theories may be started, 
and students may endeavour to mould Scripture to their 
own form ; instead of making their own prejudices give 
way to the truth of God's Word. But it is not this, my 
brethren, which makes prophecy a forbidden subject to so 
many, It is not the fear of being presumptuous, and thus 
perishing with Uzzah ; — for it cannot be presumptuous to 
seek to know the will of God, as laid down in his own 
revealed Word. But I am inclined to believe, that the 
deceitfulness of the heart of man is displayed here, as 
in so many other ways, and under the plausible excuse of 
fearing to infringe upon the Lord's prerogative, — a care- 
less reception of articles of faith is encouraged ; and in 



4 CERTAINTY, NATURE, AND SCRIPTURAL 

proportion as truths are carelessly received, so their prac- 
tical tendency is weakened. Thus it is with the doctrine 
of the Second Advent. That Christ will come again is a 
truth admitted ; — and what practical effect does it pro- 
duce amongst those who shrink from the investigation of 
prophecy ? None whatever. Death is spoken of, — hell 
is feared ; hut the joys set forth in the Gospel are com- 
pletely lost sight of, and the greatest encouragement to 
holiness of life is given in vain. 

But to bring this matter more home to you. Let me 
ask those amongst you, who know nothing of prophecy, 
what definite idea is conveyed to your minds by the 
article in the Creed to which I have alluded ? — Is it not 
the case, that no definite idea exists ? You have floating 
visions of rewards and punishments ; — but happiness may 
be conferred, or misery may be inflicted, without the 
presence, the visible presence of Jesus Christ. His 
omniscience would enable him to distinguish man's 
deserts ; His omnipotence would enable him to apportion 
to each their part in the world to come. 

But if it were possible for any one to set before you 
the order in which men will be summoned from the grave, 
to describe to you the nature of the Judge, the signs 
which will precede his coming, — and if these were shown 
to you to be now discernible, if they were constantly fixed 
in your minds,' — do you not think that some difference 
would be produced in your lives and conversation ? You 
admit the certainty of the second coming ; — you cannot 
help it. The very Heathen show the tcork of the law 
written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing 
witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or 
else excusing one another. (Rom. ii. 15.) The Scrip- 



PROMINENCE OF THE SECOND ADVENT. 



5 



ture leaves you no doubt as to the fact. Angels them- 
selves taught the apostles, in the words of the text, say- 
ing, This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into 
heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye ham seen 
him go into heaven. Our Lord himself has said, / go 
and prepare a place for you. I will come again and 
receive you unto myself, that where I am there ye may 
be also. 

I will not, then, speak more of the certainty of a 
second advent of Christ, hut will pass on at once to the 
nature of his coming, which must, in some degree, 
involve the proof of the certainty also. 

This is, in fact, the disputed point. It is the point 
upon which turns the controversy between men, both of 
whom assent to the truth of the second coming, and both 
of whom are confident that they have Scripture on their 
side. 

Before I can hope to bring you all to entertain the 
same view of the subject that I could wish, I must 
set before you, briefly, the right method of interpreting 
Scripture. One great cause of the difference of the 
views which good men entertain upon this subject, is 
the departing from the plain and literal interpretation 
of the Word of God. In general terms, I may lay it 
down as an axiom, that when Scripture will yield a 
plain sense, prophetical language is always to be 
taken literally. This, however, is not, or rather, I 
would say, has not been strictly attended to ; and 
thus we find men, good men, pious men, explaining 
literally the denunciations of wrath against the Jew, 
and interpreting spiritually the promises yet unfulfilled. 
They insist much upon the blindness of the Jew in not 



6 



CERTAINTY, NATURE, AND SCRIPTURAL 



acknowledging the promises concerning the first advent, 
literally fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth, while they are not 
less sparing in their exclamations against those who expect 
the prophecies of the second advent to he fulfilled in a 
manner no less literal. Thus, good Bishop Hall speaks 
of interpreting " the large privileges and marvellous 
achievements of restored Israel in a gross and carnal 
sense, whereas," as he says, "they express, hy an usual 
allegory, God's gracious purposes to the Church under 
the Gospel/' On the other hand, we have the authority 
of no less a writer than Bishop Horsley, that " the sense 
of prophecy in general is to he sought in the events which 
have actually taken place. " And the judicious Hooker, 
in a well-known passage, says, " Hold it for a most 
infallible rule, in exposition of sacred Scripture, that 
where a literal construction will stand, the farthest from 
the letter is commonly the worst. There is nothing," he 
continues, " more dangerous than this licentious and 
deluding art, which changes the meaning of words, as 
Alchymes does, or would do, the substance of metals, 
makes of anything what it lists, and in the end brings all 
truth to nothing." 

I do not now enter further into proofs of the correct- 
ness of this mode of interpreting Scripture, — it would 
lead me too far away from my subject ; I merely, once 
more, lay it down as an axiom, that God's Word must be 
taken as any other authentic record, and that we are not 
to expect to find in the Word of God that which we 
should count as deception in the writings of man ; — that 
when the Scriptures speak of the re-gathering of Israel, 
they mean Israel ; — when they speak of Jerusalem, they 
do not mean the Church of Christ, but Jerusalem ; — 



PROMINENCE OF THE SECOND ADVENT. 7 



when they speak of the throne of David, they do not 
mean the hearts of Christ's people, hut the seat of power 
and authority of David. 

To return, then, to the nature of the second advent, I 
remark, first, that hy the second coming is not meant a 
providential coming — a coming such as at the destruc- 
tion of Jerusalem. We read, for instance (Matt. xxiv. 
29, 30), Immediately after the tribulation of those days 
shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give 
her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the 
poiuers of the heavens shall be shaken : and then shall 
appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven : and then 
shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see 
the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with 
power and great glory. Now this passage, coming, as 
it does, in the middle of the conversation of our blessed 
Lord and his disciples, who had inquired of him concern- 
ing the destruction of Jerusalem, has not unnaturally 
caused many to suppose that our Lord still was referring 
to the same period ; whereas a little closer examination 
will lead us to see, that our Lord is desirous of prevent- 
ing the confusion which might otherwise arise in the 
minds of his people. He shows in the previous verses, 
that when men shall see the abomination of desolation, 
spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, 
that then great dangers would arise and imminent 
destruction would await the Jews. This commenced, 
indeed, with the destruction of their city. It continues 
during the present age ; which is elsewhere (Luke xxi. 
24) spoken of as the times of the Gentiles ; and again 
(Rom. xi. 12), as the fulness of the Gentiles ; and then 
we are told, as in the passage I have quoted from 



8 



CERTAINTY, NATURE, AND SCRIPTURAL 



Matthew, " Immediately after the tribulation of those 
days," " shall appear the sign of the Son of man in 
heaven." Now we cannot suppose, that what is described 
as happening after those days is intended to be under- 
stood as happening during those days ; and, therefore, 
we conclude, that the coming of the Son of man is not to 
be explained by the providential dealings of G-od at the 
destruction of Jerusalem. The whole line of argument 
upon this question is the same as that of St. Paul, in 
Heb. iv., in which he exhorts the Hebrews, lest, a pro- 
mise being left of entering into rest, any should seem to 
come short of it. The apostle then proves, that that rest 
is yet future, by a train of reasoning, showing that the 
rest, though typified by things already come to pass, was 
not the rest referred to in the Old Testament Scriptures, 
but that the Joshua of the Christians should lead 
believers into Canaan, a land which should be theirs for 
ever. 

I would further remark, that the coming of the Son of 
man is not a spiritual coming. I have already glanced 
at this interpretation. This is, perhaps, the more com- 
mon explanation of the second coming ; — it is not the 
less erroneous upon that account. Common errors are 
errors still. It is not, I say, a spiritual coming ; that is, 
Christ's advent does not mean dwelling in the hearts of 
his people. This coming, be it what it may, is future. 
We all believe that Christ will come, that he is not here 
now ; and yet he says, Lo, I am with you aliuays. In 
other words, the Saviour may be supposed to say, ' ' I am 
with you spiritually, and I will continue with you 
spiritually, but the Son of man shall come again imme- 
diately after the tribulation which awaits the people of 



PROMINENCE OF THE SECOND ADVENT. 9 



Israel." Again, the people of God are represented by 
St. Panl as looking for the appearing of their Lord, and 
yet no one can be a child of God who has not the Spirit 
of God dwelling in him. If any man have not the Spirit 
of Christ he is none of his. Consequently, the Son of 
man is actually present with us by his Spirit now, and 
therefore that cannot refer to the same presence as that 
spoken of when we declare that we look for his appearing, 
and that our belief is, that he will come again. It may 
be replied, that we express our belief that he will come 
again to judge the quick and the dead. But this does 
not alter the question of his return. If it be only pre- 
sence by his Spirit, he is here now. If it be only 
presence by his Providence, he is here now. But the 
expression in the Creed refers to a presence different 
from that which is now, but which shall be hereafter. 
Therefore I am brought to the conclusion that a personal 
presence is to be expected. This at least is possible. 
Prejudice may cause some to doubt the probability, but 
the possibility cannot be denied, for if God could send his 
Son in the likeness of sinful flesh at the first advent, 
there can be no reason for denying that it is possible the 
second advent may also be a personal coming in the 
flesh. Indeed the Scriptures do not admit of our disput- 
ing this point, for with God all things are possible. 

I will then advance another step. A personal advent 
is probable. This I would maintain, first, from the fact of 
the prophecies concerning our Redeemer already fulfilled, 
having been fulfilled personally. Christ is revealed to 
us in the character of Prophet, Priest, and King. The 
two former offices have been literally discharged in the 
person of the Man Christ Jesus. It is probable that the 



10 



CERTAINTY, NATURE, AND SCRIPTURAL 



third office will be also filled in the person of Jesus of 
Nazareth, King of the Jews. This is confirmed by Zech. 
vi. 12, 13, " Speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh 
the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold the man, whose name 
is The Branch ; and lie shall grow up out of his place, 
and he shall build the temple of the Lord : even he shall 
build the temple of the Lord ; and he shall bear the 
glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne ; and he 
shall be a priest upon his throne : and the counsel of 
peace shall be between them both." Again, turn to 
Psalm ex. 1, 2, you will read, " The Lord said unto my 
Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine 
enemies thy footstool. The Lord shall send the rod of 
thy strength out of Zion : rule thou in the midst of thine 
enemies." Again : few of us, I am sure, doubt that it is 
the revealed purpose of God to convert Israel, and to 
regather them out of all lands whither they have been 
driven, and restore them to their own land. It requires 
but little knowledge of the Bible to know that portion 
of the prophetical word : I will not, therefore, quote 
passages at length. (You can refer at your leisure to 
Ezekiel xxxvi., xxxvii., yxxix., in the Old Testament, 
and Romans xi. in the New Testament.) At the present 
time, i.e., during the period preceding the time appointed 
for the general conversion of the ancient people of God, 
there is still a remnant according to the election of grace, 
many of whom have been brought to the knowledge of 
the truth through the instrumentality of that excellent 
Society, ' ■ The Society for promoting Chi^istianity amongst 
the Jews :" a Society which I would commend to the 
notice of you all. The vail has been removed from the 
eyes of many Jews. But that which has been one of 



PROMINENCE OF THE SECOND ADVENT. 11 

the greatest stumbling-blocks to the Jew — that which 
has hindered the conversion of many, has been the very 
erroneous interpretation adopted by our brethren ; that 
which condemns the Jew for overlooking Messiah in 
humiliation, and which denies to the Jew the right of 
expecting Messiah personally in glory. There certainly 
is a want of consistency in this which we do not see in 
the interpretation of any other book. A want of con- 
sistency, the more to be lamented, inasmuch as, humanly 
speaking, it keeps many a poor Jew enchained by his 
sinful denial of the Lord of glory. 

If, however, I have reason for proceeding one more 
step, and affirming that a personal advent is a certain 
event, I need not detain you with arguments upon the 
mere probability of the question. I do not hesitate to 
declare my conviction that the advent will be personal. 
I am assured that it will be so, for these reasons : — 

1. From the direct assertion of God's Word. 

2, From the circumstances described in Scripture as 
connected with that event. 

For the first point, the direct assertion of Scripture, 
let me refer you to Acts i., the chapter from whence the 
text is taken. The apostles (see verse 6) asked their 
Lord and Master, just on the point of leaving them, that 
he might prepare a place for them, When he would 
restore again the kingdom to Israel. Our Lord does not 
deny that a period will come when this great restoration 
shall take place ; he contents himself with answering the 
question which was put to him, That it ivas not for them 
to know the times or the seasons, which the Father had 
put in his own power. After he had spoken these things, 



12 



CERTAINTY, NATURE, AXD SCRIPTURAL 



while they heheld, he was taken up ; and a cloud received 
him out of their sight. We may readily understand the 
anxiety which would have been felt by the apostles as 
they witnessed their beloved Master gradually receding 
from their view. Long were they disposed to loiter upon 
the spot. Stedfastly did they look up to heaven ; and 
then it was that angels thus addressed them, Ye men of 
Galilee, ivhy stand ye gazing up into heaven ? this same 
Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so 
come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. 
Can anything be stronger ? Mark that which the 
apostles were doing. They had seen Jesus in the body : 
in that body the hands and side of which doubting 
Thomas had touched ; in that body which after the 
resurrection had partaken of food. (Luke xxiv. 42.) 
In the body, I repeat, the apostles had seen Jesus ascend 
from earth toward heaven. They watched him until a 
cloud received him out of their sight. Observe, then, 
that in the verse I have quoted from Acts i. it is stated, 
that "so" in " like manner" Jesus should return. 
What can that mean, but that he shall return per- 
sonally, with a body visible and tangible, and in a cloud ? 
Compare with this Dan. vii. 13, 14, I saw in the night 
visions, and, behold, one like the Son of Man came with 
the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, 
and they brought him near before him. And there was 
given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all 
people, nations, and languages, should serve him : his 
dominion is an everlasting dominion, ichich shall not 
pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be 
destroyed ; and you will see that this return in the clouds 



PROMINENCE OF THE SECOND ADVENT. 13 



was foreknown and foretold by God. Look, again, at 
Matt. xxiv. 30, And then shall appear the sign of the 
Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of 
the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man 
coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great 
glory. What is the sign of the Son of man but the 
cloud of glory ? Turn, again, to Matt. xxvi. 64, and 
you find our Lord's own words, Jesus saith unto him, 
Thou hast said : nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter 
shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of 
power, and coming in the clouds of heaven ; and we may 
confirm this by Rev. i. 7, Behold, he cometh with clouds; 
and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced 
him : and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of 
him. Even so, Amen. The prophet Zechariah also 
leads us to the same conclusion ; xiv. 4, 5, And his feet 
shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which 
is before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives 
shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and 
toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; 
and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, 
and half of it toward the south. And ye shall flee to the 
valley of the mountains ; for the valley of the mountains 
shall reach unto Azal : yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled 
from before the earthquake in the days of TJzziah King 
of Judah : and the Lord my God shall come, and all 
the saints with thee. Now I must candidly confess that 
it does seem to me impossible to feel any reverence for 
the Word of God, and then to read such a description as 
this, abounding as it does in such minute geographical 
details, and then to deny that the Lord will come again 



14 CERTAINTY, NATURE, AND SCRIPTURAL 



personally in the clouds of heaven, and that his feet will 
stand in that day on the Mount of Olives. 

2dly. I maintain that the second advent will be a per- 
sonal appearance from the circumstances described in 
Scripture, as connected with that event. I shall only 
speak very briefly upon this head, inasmuch as the seventh 
and eighth Lectures will necessarily allude to it, and the 
eleventh must dwell upon it. I only, therefore, would 
draw your attention once more to that remarkable chapter, 
Zech. xiv. 9, And the Lord shall be king over all the 
earth : in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name 
one ; also to Jer. xxiii. 5, 6, Behold the days come, 
saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous 
Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall 
execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days 
Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely ; and 
this is his name whereby he shall be called, The Lord 
our Righteousness ; with which we may also compare 
Zech. vi. 12, 13, And speak unto him, saying, Thus 
speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold the man, 
ivhose name is The Branch ; and he shall grow up out 
of his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord : 
even he shall build the temple of the Lord ; and he shall 
bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne ; 
and he shall be a priest upon his throne : and the counsel 
of peace shall be between them both. I might refer you 
to numerous other passages in the Old Testament ; 
especially I might read a text already quoted, Dan. vii. 
13, 14 ; but I will ask you to turn to Luke i. 32, 33, 
He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the 
Highest ; and the Lord God shall give unto him the 



PBOMINENCE OF THE SECOND ADVENT. 15 



throne of his father David : and he shall reign over the 
house of Jacob for ever ; and of his kingdom there shall 
he no end ; and Acts ii. 30, Therefore being a prophet, 
and knowing that God had sworn vjith an oath to him, 
that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he 
would raise up Christ to sit on his throne. 

How was the word " throne" understood by the Jews? 
What meaning would it convey to them ? Surely the 
seat of power and authority ; — and that must be the 
meaning in which we also are to receive that text. 

I must not suffer myself to enter into a lengthened 
proof that the throne literally means the seat of power. 
I only therefore remark in passing, that Jesus did not, at 
his first advent, sit on the throne, for he was despised, 
and rejected of men. He did not sit on that throne, for 
though Pilate prophetically wrote a title, Jesus of Naza- 
reth, the King of the Jews, yet so far was he, who was 
born a King, from being acknowledged as King, that he 
had not where to lay his head ; and the Jews themselves 
declared, We have no King but Caesar. And, again, 
when Pilate asked the multitude if he should crucifv 
their King ? they replied, We will not have this man 
to reign over us. 

Still, however, objections may be raised to these state- 
ments. These shall be noticed, though my object has 
been to declare that which I believe to be the correct 
exposition of truth, more than to answer the objections 
which may be raised. Some may consider, from the 
language of Zech. ix. 9, Rejoice greatly, 0 daughter of 
Zion ; shout, 0 daughter of Jerusalem : behold, thy 
King cometh unto thee : he is just, and having salva- 
tion ; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt 



16 



CERTAINTY, NATURE, AND SCRIPTURAL 



the foal of an ass, compared with John xii. 15, Fear 
not, daughter of Zion : behold, thy King cometh, sitting 
on an ass's colt, that the prophecy of Christ being a 
King upon earth has been fulfilled. But surely there is 
a wide difference between having the title and having 
the power. The time was not yet come in the eternal 
purpose of God for Jesus to be acknowledged King of 
kings, and for all the kingdoms of this world to become 
the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ. 

Again, some may suppose that because our Lord has 
declared his kingdom is not of this world, that therefore 
he cannot be a King upon earth. Our Lord, however, 
never declared that his kingdom was not to be in this 
world, but merely that his kingdom neither took its rise 
from men, nor depended upon men. This is well illus- 
trated by the second Psalm. 

My Christian friends, I am fearful of detaining you to 
a very late hour, if I do not at once proceed to notice the 
third head of my subject, namely, the scriptural promi- 
nence of this doctrine. I think I ought, perhaps, to 
have maintained before you that this advent will be pre- 
millennial, but I expect that my Reverend brother, who 
will deliver the third lecture, will make this plain to you. 
I leave it therefore to him, and proceed to remark, that 
any doctrine which concerns our adorable Redeemer may 
be expected to occupy a prominent position in Holy 
Scripture. 

To what degree any of my hearers may think it 
necessary that a doctrine should be made prominent 
before they are prepared to receive it, I cannot venture 
to say. I confess, that if I find a truth asserted plainly 
but once in Scripture, I feel myself bound to acknowledge 



PROMINENCE OE THE SECOND ADVENT. 17 

it, and act upon it, but the doctrine before us is con- 
stantly referred to in the sacred volume as the great 
means of awakening, warning, encouraging, comforting 
sinners. The great object, if I may so speak, of the 
Omnipotent, is to encourage the sinner to turn from the 
error of his way, and to seek the one living and true 
God in Christ. In death there is no one thing which is 
calculated to cheer, there is nothing which is not awful 
and terrifying, it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands 
of the living God ; but, on the other hand, in the views 
of sinless purity, in the notion of life, life with Christ, 
there is everything which we need to show us the vanity 
of things earthly, and the value of those joys which are 
at God's right hand for evermore. It is thus St. John 
reasons ; 1 John iii. 2, Beloved, he says, now are we 
the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we 
shall be ; but we know that, when he shall appear, we 
shall be like him ; for we shall see him as he is. 

Do we wish, then, for the language of our Lord, when 
he would have his people watchful, we have the parable 
of the ten virgins, Matt, xxv., in which we are told, 
Watch, therefore, for ye knoiv neither the day nor the 
hour wherein the Son of man cometh. Compare with 
this 2 Peter iii. 8 — 11, But, beloved, be not ignorant 
of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a 
thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The 
Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men 
count slackness ; but is long -suffering to us-ward, not 
willing that any should perish, but that all should come 
to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a 
thief in the night ; in the which the heavens shall pass 
away with a great ise, and the elements shall melt with 

c 



18 



CERTAINTY, NATURE, AND SCRIPTURAL 



fervent heat, the earth also and the ivories that are therein 
shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things 
shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to 
be in all holy conversation and godliness. Would an 
apostle urge moderation upon his hearers, he says, 
Phil. iv. 5, Let your moderation be known unto all men. 
The Lord is at hand. Does the apostle desire to see 
affections spiritualized, he says, Col. hi. 2, 4, 5, Set 
your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 
When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye 
also appear with him in glory. Mortify, therefore, your 
members which are upon the earth. Does he desire to 
reform the immoral, he tells us, Titus ii., The grace of 
God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 
teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, 
we shoidd live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this 
present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the 
glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour 
Jesus Christ. Does he urge repentance. It is (Acts iii. 
19 — 21), Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that 
your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing 
shall come from the presence of the Lord ; and he shall 
send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you ; 
whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitu- 
tion of all things, ichich God hath spoken by the mouth 
of all his holy prophets since the world began. Would 
he cheer the persecuted, he says, James v. 7, 8, Be 
patient, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord ; be ye 
patient ; stablish your hearts : for the coming of the 
Lord draweth nigh. Would he encourage the Christian 
warrior, he says, 2 Tim. iv. 7, / have fought a good 
fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith : 



PROMINENCE OF THE SECOND ADVENT- 19 

henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteous- 
ness, vjhich the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me 
at that day : and not to me only, but unto all them also 
that love his appearing. Would he comfort those that 
sorrow for the loss of friends, he says, 1 Thess. iv. 
13 — 18, But I would not have you to he ignorant, 
brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye 
sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if 
we believe that Jesus died and rase again, even so them 
also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For 
this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we 
which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord 
shall not prevent them ivhich are asleep. For the Lord 
himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the 
voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God : and 
the dead in Christ shall rise first : then we which are 
alive and remain shall be caught up together with them 
in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air : and so shall 
we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one 
another with these words. Would the apostle Jude give 
a general word of warning, he says, in the fourteenth 
and fifteenth verses, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten 
thousand of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and 
to convince cdl that are ungodly among them of all their 
ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and 
of all their hard speeches ivhich ungodly sinners have 
spoken against him. 

My "brethren, I quote no more. Whatever "blame 
may he attached to myself or to my brethren in the 
ministry for enforcing the duty of serving God on other 
grounds than those which the Scripture has laid down, 
this, at any rate, must be clear, the apostle considered 

c 2 



20 CERTAINTY, NATURE, &C. 

the second advent of the Lord worthy of the greatest 
prominence in his ministry ; and if this he clear, I am 
free to confess, that I am ignorant how any one can 
venture to neglect this important subject. It does 
appear to me to he great presumption to omit a topic 
so scriptural, and still more presumptuous to maintain 
that any other topic is better calculated to warn the 
sinner to walk closely with his God. When I reflect 
that there are special blessings promised to those who 
look for his coming, and special warnings to those who 
say, My Lord delay eth his coming, I cannot but feel 
that it is my duty prominently to set forward the doc- 
trine of the Second Advent. I will not keep you longer ; 
I will only entreat you prayerfully to reflect upon the 
subject-matter of this address, the Certainty, Nature, 
and Scriptural prominence of the Second Advent. And 
may all who hear me this night be so taught by the 
Spirit of God, as from this very hour to watch for the 
return of their Lord ! 



LECTURE II. 



THE ACTUAL NEGLECT OF THE SECOND ADVENT. 



BY THE REV. EDWARD AURIOL, M.A., 



Matt. XXV. 5. 

" While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and 



The parable from which these words are taken forms 
part of the same discourse of our Lord as is related in 
the preceding chapter. "As he sat upon the Mount of 
Olives," we read, "the disciples came unto him pri- 
vately, saying, Tell us when shall these things be, and 
what shall be the signs of thy coming, and of the end 
of the world." And in answer to these questions, he 
gave a very concise account of the events which would 
take place after his departure from them, beginning with 
the destruction of Jerusalem, and the subsequent tribu- 
lation of the Jewish people, and concluding with " the 
coming of the Son of man in the clouds of heaven with 
power and great glory." He then proceeded to give 
warnings and directions to his Church with respect to 



RECTOR OF ST. DUNSTAN's IN THE WEST, LONDON. 




22 



ACTUAL XEGLECT OF 



that deeply important event ; first, in plain injunctions 
to be ready, and then in the parables which follow, 
enforcing those injunctions. 

[Now that parable, which is more immediately the 
subject for our consideration this evening, presents this 
event — the second advent of our Lord — in a most striking 
and attractive point of view. He comes as a Bridegroom 
to his Chinch. Does not this very term bring before our 
minds the infinite love and tenderness of our Lord ? — As 
the Bridegroom of his Church 44 He loved it, and gave 
himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it with 
the washing of water by the Word, that he might present 
it to himself a glorious Chinch, not having spot, or 
wrinkle, or any such thing, but that it should be holy 
and without Jdemish." Does it not remind us of his 
own gracious character, as " the chiefest among ten 
thousand, and altogether lovely ? " Does it not call our 
attention at once to that beautiful description which the 
inspired Psalmist gives us in the Forty-fifth Psalm, of 
the marriage of Him whom he addresses as that 44 God 
whose throne is for ever and ever, and the sceptre of 
whose kingdom is a right sceptre ? " Does it not lead 
us to the anticipation of that day, described in the 
nineteenth chapter of the Revelation, where St. John 
declares, 44 A voice came out of the throne, saying, 
Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear 
him, both small and great." 44 And I heard as it were 
the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many 
waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, 
Allelujah, for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Let 
us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him, for the 
marriage of the Lamb is come, and his Bride hath made 



THE SECOND ADVENT. 



23 



herself ready." If in the preceding chapter he uses the 
language, of warning, he here addresses every one, who 
is taught to know him in his true character, in language 
most affecting to the heart, most winning to the affec- 
tions. If John the Baptist could speak of himself as 
"rejoicing greatly because of the bridegroom's voice, " 
if he could say, — when he had seen him coming out of 
the water of baptism, when the " Holy Spirit as a dove 
descended upon him," and the Father proclaimed him 
as " his beloved Son," — " this my joy therefore is 
fulfilled ; " if, as our Lord declares, the presence of the 
bridegroom so cheered the hearts of the " children of 
the bride-chamber," when he was with them in the days 
of his humiliation, that there was no place amongst them 
for fasting and sorrow, oh ! what shall be the happi- 
ness of that day when we shall " see the King in his 
beauty ; " when we shall be " called to the marriage 
supper of the Lamb ; " when his " saints shall be 
caught up to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we 
be ever with the Lord." And, brethren, the parable 
from which my text is taken represents the Church as 
professing to look for such a day, as called out of the 
world for the very purpose of welcoming and glorifying 
Him at his coming. 

But blessed as the object of this calling is, we have 
brought before us a truly humbling picture, from whence 
I purpose to illustrate the subject assigned to me in this 
course of Lectures, viz., " the actual Neglect of the 
Second Advent." 

" Whilst the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered 
and slept." We will consider from these words — 



24 



ACTUAL NEGLECT OF 



First, the absence of our Lord ; 

Secondly, the effects of that absence on the Church 
at large. 

May God be pleased of his infinite mercy largely to 
bless the consideration of these points to our souls' 
profit, for Jesus Christ's sake ! 

First, then, we will consider the absence of the 
Lord; — 4 4 the bridegroom tarried." Such an absence, 
even a lengthened absence, is clearly foretold in Scrip- 
ture. Our Saviour himself declares this very decidedly 
in that parable which follows the one we are now con- 
sidering, in which he represents himself as a " man 
travelling into a far country," and thus speaks of his 
return (ver. 19), " After a long time the Lord of those 
servants cometh, and reckoneth with them." A con- 
siderable period then, we are told, was to elapse between 
Christ's ascension into heaven, and " his coming in like 
manner as he was seen to go into heaven." Events of 
great importance, in their very character needing some 
time for their ripening, were foretold by St. Paul as 
being: still to occur, when he wrote, in 2 Thess. ii. 1, 
" Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto 
him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, 
neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, 
as that the day of Christ is at hand ; " [or, as is signified 
by the original word, eveo-TrjKev, will take place instantly.] 
" Let no man deceive you by any means ; for that 
day shall not come, except there come a falling away 
first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of 
perdition ; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all 



THE SECOND ADVENT. 



25 



that is called God, or is worshipped ; so that he as 
God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself 
that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was 
yet with you, I told you these things ? and now ye know 
what withholdeth that he might he revealed in his time." 
The Church is warned, indeed, against ever saying, " My 
Lord delayeth his coming." His people are commanded 
to have their 66 loins girded, and their lights hurning, and 
to be themselves like unto men that wait for the Lord 
when he will return from the wedding, that when he 
cometh and knocketh they may open to him imme- 
diately ; " so that at no season of the Church's existence 
in her present state is this motive of hope and comfort 
and joy to he wanting. And though, at different periods, 
the expectation of the immediate or speedy coming of the 
bridegroom has been from time to time disappointed, and 
the people of the Lord have yet to wait, this is not to be 
used as an argument against their still expecting him, or 
to be regarded as proving that the expectation of his 
speedy approach must certainly now be an unfounded 
one. This is implied by our Lord's adding to the com- 
mand to watch, the warning, Luke xii. 38, ' ' If he shall 
come in the second watch, or come in the third watch" 
(it is purposely not said, he shall not come in the second 
watch, or, because he has not come in the third watch, 
he will not come in the fourth) ; but 66 if he shall come 
in the second, or come in the third, and find them so," 
44 blessed are those servants." The direction given 
to the people of God is like that before given to the 
Prophet Habakkuk,— " The vision is yet for an appointed 
time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie : though it 



26 



ACTUAL NEGLECT OF 



tarry, wait for it ; because it will surely come, it will not 
tarry." 

Such, then, is the present state of the Church. 
Though present, spiritually, with his people " always, 
unto the end of the world," personally, the Lord is absent 
from his Church. He is at the " right hand of his 
Father ; " "gone to receive a kingdom ; " " waiting till 
his foes be made his footstool;" " tarrying," but " to 
come." 

Let us proceed to consider — 

II. The effect of this absence on the Church at large, 
as stated in my text. 

" Whilst the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered 
and slept." The professing people of God are repre- 
sented in the parable under the figure of ten virgins who 
went out to meet the bridegroom. There is an essential 
difference between these virgins : they are divided into 
two classes, the wise and the foolish. The wise are 
described as having oil in their vessels, " the foolish took 
no oil with their lamps." In general terms we may say, 
that the oil in the vessels may signify the unction of the 
Holy One, the blessed Spirit shining upon God's truth, 
enlightening, quickening, and preparing them to glorify 
him : the being destitute of this is the having a name 
to live whilst they are dead ; to pass with the world as 
professors of religion, but to be strangers to the power of 
godliness. But, in one respect, we notice that both 
classes are alike. " Whilst the bridegroom tarried they 
all slumbered and slept." The expression is remarkable, 
as seeming to imply a neglect of this truth gradually 
creeping over the Church, until at last it ended in a deep 



THE SECOND ADVENT. 



27 



sleep. And the history of the Church answers well to 
this representation. At first, as in the apostles' time, 
there appears to have heen no question as to the glorious 
appearing of the Lord heing the one great object of ex- 
pectation. The immediate effect upon the Thessalonians, 
on their conversion to God from idols, was not only ' ' that 
they served the living and true God," but that "they 
waited for his Son from heaven ; ' ' and, indeed, the 
eagerness of their immediate expectation was so great, 
that St. Paul found it necessary to repress it by declaring 
the events which must previously occur. The primitive 
writers of the three first centuries almost universally 
maintain the view of the personal pre-millennial coming 
of Christ ; and it was not till after the Roman empire 
became Christian, that the slumber which had begun to 
pervade the Church terminated in a deep sleep. This, 
then, describes the general and actual neglect of the 
subject by the whole body of the Church at large : there 
may have been times, indeed, when there has been a 
starting from this slumber ; there have been, doubtless, 
at different periods, individual members who have been 
more alive to the great truths connected with the subject ; 
but such as was foretold has been the actual state of the 
Church in general with regard to it. 

We will proceed to illustrate this, by remarking what 
have been the symptoms of this neglect. 

Now it would be manifestly unfair and incorrect to 
confound the two classes represented as wise and foolish 
virgins, in considering the symptoms of neglect of this 
doctrine, which have been manifested by both. Their 
characters are essentially different, and the difference 
appears in this, as in other points. In the foolish virgins, 



28 



ACTUAL NEGLECT OF 



the state of slumber is evidenced by the deep worldliness 
which appears to engross them, and to pervade their 
whole conduct. Notwithstanding their profession, is not 
the spirit of the world manifestly destroying all Christian 
principle and endangering their souls ? How many are 
" living in pleasure," and are " dead whilst they live ! " 
How many are heaping up for themselves treasures, igno- 
rant that they are heaping them up for the last days, and 
that they are nourishing their hearts as for "a day of 
slaughter ! " How many are eagerly pursuing wealth for 
themselves and their families, " calling their lands after 
their own names," as though the fashion of the world 
were to abide for ever ! And what are these but sad 
proofs of an indifference and unconcern as to the great 
object for which they are called to a Christian profession, 
to look for the coming of Christ as their King, and for a 
portion in his kingdom, and the consequence is, that 
whilst thus sleeping, Satan is busy sowing his tares 
amongst them, employing their minds and amusing their 
imaginations with matters of outward forms and cere- 
mony, or corrupting them from the ' ' simplicity which is 
in Christ," to follow foolish and vain questions, which 
would appear vain indeed, were they persuaded that the 
" Judge standeth at the door," that the " Lord cometh 
who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, 
and will make manifest the counsels of the heart." We 
are warned that such an absence of anything like scriptural 
hopes, and such a want of real anxiety about spiritual 
interests, are decided marks of a state of slumber, such 
as is described in those awful words, " As the days of 
Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 
For as in the davs that were before the flood they were 



THE SECOND ADVENT. 



29 



eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, 
until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and knew 
not till the flood came, and took them all away ; so shall 
also the coming of the Son of man he." 

But if such are the symptoms of the slumhering state 
of the mere professing Church as to this subject, there 
are other proofs that the wise virgins are and have heen 
sleeping also. 

We notice one of these symptoms in the fact, that 
holy, spiritually-minded men of God have ceased to set 
forth Christ's coming as prominently as Scripture does, 
as the hlessed glorious hope of the Church of God. 
Instead of this, almost universally they have heen accus- 
tomed to dwell only on the happiness of the separate 
state of the soul when absent from the body. They 
have discoursed largely upon death, and the blessedness 
of dying in the Lord. We are far from saying that they 
have in their teaching altogether overlooked a resurrec- 
tion of the body ; but the one subject has been treated 
most disproportionately with respect to the other. The 
perfecting of the body of Christ, by the gathering in 
of the whole number of the elect of God, with a 
view to his coming, to be glorified in them, has been 
lost sight of in the more selfish contemplation of our 
own individual safety in heaven ; whilst the Church's 
hope of her Redeemer's reign has been merged in the 
general view of the final judgment, which has been set 
forth as the great and sole event to be consummated at 
the second advent. Death has been considered as the 
same thing as the coming of the Lord. But if the Scrip- 
tures were consulted on this subject, how evident would 



30 



ACTUAL NEGLECT OF 



appear the fact that this is really a proof that men have 
been slumbering as to this important doctrine. How 
different a place does the Word of God give to the death 
of the believer, in comparison with the coming of the 
Lord Jesus Christ ! How little is said of the separate 
state of happiness, in comparison with that which is con- 
stantly recurring concerning the glory of the second 
advent ! How is death always spoken of, as an enemy 
to be encountered — the coming of Christ, as an object to 
be loved, longed for, ardently desired. How differently 
does Peter speak of his " putting off the body of the 
flesh," or Paul of his being * 4 ready to be offered," from 
the manner in which the one speaks of the " looking for 
and hasting unto the coming of the day of God," and the 
other of his earnest eagerness " if by any means he might 
attain unto the resurrection of the dead." Nay, there is 
one argument which indisputably proves that death and 
the second advent are not, according to Scripture, to be 
regarded in the same light. No Christian man would 
think it right to pray for his own death, whereas the 
"Word of God contains the most earnest and eager prayers 
for the coming of the Lord. "Even so, Lord Jesus, 
come quickly." And if it be answered, that, as far as 
individual believers are concerned, the two ideas amount 
practically to the same thing, because the spiritual state 
of every man is fixed eternally at the moment of death, 
we reply, that it cannot be a matter of indifference to 
confound things which Scripture has distinguished ; and 
that we ought to look for God's blessing most surely 
(whether for the conversion of sinners, or for the edifica- 
tion of his own people), when using the arguments 



THE SECOND ADVENT. 



31 



employed by the Lord himself in his Word, 6 6 If any 
man speak, let him speak according to the oracles of 
God." 

Now the neglect of which we have been speaking, may 
doubtless be traced principally to a mistaken view of the 
nature and objects of the present dispensation, which has 
encouraged the expectation of a universal spread of 
spiritual light and knowledge and love throughout the 
world before the coming of Christ ; or, to erroneous 
opinions concerning the millennium ; some having imagined 
that event to have already taken place, notwithstanding 
the direct proofs to the contrary, in the usurpation of the 
Antichristian system of Popery, and in the manifest 
dominion of Satan in the hearts of the children of dis- 
obedience. Others suppose that there will be a gradual, 
or even it may be a more manifestly miraculous diffusion 
of the Gospel, bringing about a spiritual millennium 
before the day of judgment. But we may notice that 
there is not one word said of such a glorious and interest- 
ing event in the whole of that one discourse of our Lord, 
of which the parable of the ten virgins forms a part, 
beginning at the fourth verse of the twenty-fourth 
chapter, in which our Lord answers the question of the 
apostles, " Tell us, when shall these things be ? and 
what shall be the signs of thy coming, and of the end of 
the world?" Were it not strange, indeed, when speak- 
ing of the signs which should precede his coming, if this 
spread of true religion were to be one of them, to omit 
that, which beyond all others, could be most easily 
observed by us ? Nor in the Epistles do we find any 
expectation of the kind held out. Nay, when St. Paul 
speaks to the Thessalonians of the falling away first, and 



32 



ACTUAL NEGLECT OF 



of the revelation of the Man of Sin — he does not speak 
of the recovery of the truth, or of its universal diffusion, 
hefore the coming of Christ, but tells us rather that the 
Lord shall " consume that wicked one by the spirit of his 
mouth, and destroy him with the brightness of his 
coming ; " and we are warned in many passages that the 
coming of Christ will overtake the Church, not after a 
preparation for it by a previous millennium, but 44 as a 
thief in the night." 

Another cause of this neglect has been a prejudice 
against the study of the prophetical writings ; as though 
any part of God's Word could be safely laid aside by his 
Church. Whereas, with regard to the book in which 
are written the things most ' ' difficult to be understood," 
we find an especial blessing attached to the study of it ; 
" Blessed is he that readeth, and they that know the 
words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are 
written therein; for the time is at hand." We are 
bound indeed to acknowledge that this objection has been 
strengthened by some of the errors and extravagances of 
those who have professed to hold this truth ; but, 
brethren, we would urge on you the consideration, that 
this objection would apply to almost all the truths con- 
tained in Scripture — for which one of them has not been 
held in unrighteousness ? and those which most justly 
afford the highest spiritual enjoyment to the believer have 
been constantly perverted, as though Satan, knowing 
their worth and excellence, would put a hindrance in the 
way of their being received. We are not, therefore, 
bidden in the Scriptures to be afraid of examining into 
such truths, but rather, the Divine Word says, " Prove 
all things, hold fast that which is good." 



THE SECOND ADVENT. 



33 



Such seem to have been the causes of this neglect. I 
can only hastily glance at some of the sad consequences 
to the world in general. 

1st, There is no doubt that a great stumbling-block 
has been thrown in the way of the Jews. They have 
always been expecting a glorious King as their Saviour : 
they have always been looking for the recovery of their 
land, and for the restoration of their ancient privileges. 
Surely, the prophecies contained in God's Word have 
given them the greatest reason to do so. Their sin has 
been, that they have overlooked those which spoke of his 
first coming in humiliation. Is it to be wondered at, then, 
that when they have seen a large body of men calling 
themselves the Church of Christ corrupted by Popery 
and Infidelity, and others who hold the pure faith, with- 
holding the promises from the Jews, and explaining 
away, by a figurative interpretation, large portions of the 
Scriptures, they have been encouraged in their rejection 
of the Son of David, who, having come first of all in 
humiliation, shall come again to reign over the house of 
Israel for ever ? We see, indeed, what cause the apostle 
had for that caution to the Gentile Church, "Be not 
high-minded, but fear." 

2. Another grievous consequence of this neglect has 
been the encouragement unintentionally given to Infi- 
delity. If we look at the plans devised by the enemy for 
the bringing about a kind of intellectual and moral 
millennium, apart from the Word of Christ and his glory, 
is it not evident that the Church would have most 
strongly protested against such an idea, had she held up 
the glory of Messiah's second coming and Messiah's 
reign as alone accomplishing those hopes which are 

D 



34 



ACTUAL NEGLECT OF 



kindled even in many who cannot but feel and acknow- 
ledge the unsatisfactoriness of our present state ? 

3. And once more I would notice, as a consequence of 
neglect, the discouragement of Christian missions not 
only to the Jews but to the Heathen. I know that the 
opposite view to this has been taken by many zealous 
advocates of the missionary cause, who have feared lest 
the expectation of the speedy coming of Christ, and the 
view of his personal reign, should damp missionary zeal. 
But such an opinion is altogether, I conceive, founded on 
a misconception of the subject ; for surely, brethren, did we 
realize the blessings of the approaching kingdom of Christ, 
who ought to be so zealous for the preaching of the Gospel, 
as those who are looking for and expecting that coming ? 
Our Lord tells us, that it is not until " the Gospel of 
the kingdom" shall have been "preached in all the 
world" "for a witness unto all nations," that " the end 
shall come." Our Church teaches us to pray that the 
Lord would " shortly accomplish the number of his elect, 
and hasten his kingdom." Will not a believer, to whom 
(after he has realized the great truths on which his own 
salvation rests) the speedy coming of his Lord has be- 
come the chief object of earnest expectation, will not 
such a one be animated with a most eager desire to be an 
instrument, in the Lord's hand, for the fulfilment of those 
events which are yet to be accomplished ? What a 
stirring echo to the longing of his own heart, is the cry 
of the "whole creation," through sin and the miserable 
prevalence of Heathenism, i ' groaning and travailing with 
pain together until now!" What a motive for fervour 
and zeal in the missionary cause has he who can look at 
every soul onverted to God as a fresh earnest of the 



THE SECOND ADVENT. 



35 



near approach, of the " day of redemption ! " When he 
thinks of the hopes set before him in connexion with the 
Bridegroom's return, how will he long that many should 
' ' come from the east, and from the west, and from the 
north, and from the south, to sit down with Abraham, 
and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of God ! " What 
a motive, too, arises from a sense of the importance of 
the present time, and the graciousness of the Lord's still 
tarrying, a tarrying in which we ourselves, with thousands 
of others, are interested ; for had he come ere this, we 
should have been deprived of a share in those unspeakable 
enjoyments which await the children of the bridechamber 
when "he shall appear" "to take bis kingdom/' and 
" to reign before his ancients gloriously ; " and when that 
promise shall be fulfilled, 6 6 To him that overcometh will 
I give to sit down with me on my throne, even as I also 
overcame, and am set down with my Father on his 
throne." 

Brethren, you, who in this waiting season are looking 
for the Lord's appearing, let your zeal in the missionary 
cause repel this unfounded charge of coldness, let your 
earnest co-operation in every effort for the in- gathering 
of souls be a sufficient answer to such an accusation, 
when urged as an argument against the study of the 
subject, or against the adoption of such a view of his 
kingdom. 

Lastly, does it not become the faithful ministers of 
God's Word to call upon the Church to throw off this 
neglect, to rouse herself, to put on her beautiful gar- 
ments, and to expect the coming of the Lord? How 
know we, brethren, that the cry is not now at once to be 
made- — " Behold, the bridegroom cometh ? " "At mid- 
D 2 



36 



ACTUAL NEGLECT OF 



night," we are told, "was the cry made." This is the 
term by which the Lord characterizes the times of 
mingled disquietude and peace, of slumber and of busy 
worldliness, that shall precede his coming. Is there 
nothing in the aspect of the present times which corre- 
sponds to this description ? On all sides we hear of 
external peace, inasmuch as there has been a long interval 
of comparative peace throughout the world ; on all sides 
schemes of worldly policy and gain are eagerly pursued ; 
and while men will admit that there are whispered fears 
of danger, many will repeat, one to another, that all will 
yet be well. Others, while their hearts are secretly filled 
with boding expectations of events that are coming on 
the earth, are ready to scorn those who would refer them 
to God's Word for guidance. But that is no true peace 
which is not based upon God's Word. It is " when men 
shall say, Peace and safety," we are told, " that sudden 
destruction shall come upon them, and they shall not 
escape." We see in the lowering clouds of Popery and 
superstition the threatening^ of a stormy midnight. We 
hear in the sullen whisperings of Infidelity and lawless- 
ness the presage of coming judgments. Is there not 
much to make us think that it is now our part to lift up 
our voice as a trumpet to proclaim the fact- — " Behold, 
the bridegroom cometh ! " Oh, that that cry might be 
heard, might be heeded ! "He that hath ears to hear, 
let him hear." 

The only light which can enlighten you in a season of 
darkness and dismay, is the light of Divine truth ; not a 
mere speculative notion, but that which rests on the 
Word of God, taken in its plain, literal, unadulterated 
sense. Oh ! are we addressing any who are living in sin 



THE SECOND AD YE NT. 



37 



and worldliness, with their hearts unconverted to God,' — 
any who ,may just be roused to a sense of their real con- 
dition, whose minds may well he filled with terror and 
dismay at the thoughts of Christ's coming to find them 
in their present state,— -any to whom the horrors of an 
awakened conscience seem, like the midnight gloom, to 
be closing round them,' — unwise virgins, having no oil in 
their lamps, — we would urge you to "go and buy the 
truth, and sell it not ! " We would send you at once to 
the Word of God, which testifies of Jesus, who is to be 
sought now as a Saviour, that you may be prepared to 
meet him as the bridegroom. May the light of the 
Word direct you to him ! May it be given to you so to 
believe that you may not be ashamed at his coming ; " for 
whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed ! " 

To the true spiritual members of the Church, we would 
say ; At least study this subject, search the Scriptures 
with especial regard to it. It must be allowed to be a 
subject of deepest interest : it claims, then, surely, that 
you should carefully and prayerfully inquire into it. Is it 
not presumptuous to persist in refusing to look into any 
part of God's Word ? It has been well said, that " no 
mistakes of honest inquirers into prophetic truth are so 
fatal as the error of neglecting and despising the spirit 
of prophecy, which is the ' testimony of Jesus.' " (Rev. 
xix. 10.) 

The word of prophecy especially, remember, is spoken 
of as " a light shining in a dark place, whereunto we do 
well that we take heed." It was not intended, as has 
been well said of experience, to be " like the lantern on 
the stern, which shines only on the waves which are 
past ; " but we are invited to bring it forward, that it may 



38 



ACTUAL NEGLECT OF 



cheer the Church, on her stormy passage through the 
night of this world, while she is waiting for the rising of 
the 6 4 Sun of Righteousness with healing in his wings ; " 
much in the same manner as St. Luke, in Acts xxvii., 
describes the shipwrecked sailors with St. Paul, " wishing 
for the day." 

But, again, study it with a remembrance of the oppo- 
sition of your own hearts to the truth of God ; to what- 
ever is not an object of sight and sense ; to whatever is 
not to be arrived at by human probabilities. This is a 
question which rests altogether on scriptural evidence. 
4 4 What says the Lord?" But then the subjects con- 
nected with it are so sublime, so far beyond what the 
imagination can picture to itself, — the coming of the Son 
of man in clouds of heaven, — the resurrection of the 
just, — the saints caught up to meet the Lord in the air, — 
his reign of righteousness, — all so far beyond what it 
hath entered into 44 the heart of man to conceive," that 
we have cause to pray that we may have faith just to 
receive what Scripture says, and not to be stumbled 
by it. 

Study it, above all, with prayer for the Holy Spirit, 
remembering, that though your judgment should be ever 
so strongly convinced on the subject, or it should be made 
ever so plain to your understanding, or even if all know- 
ledge were given to you to know all mysteries, that alone 
would profit you nothing. This, like every other scrip- 
tural truth, in order that it may be profitable to us, needs 
to be 44 spiritually discerned" with all its practical 
bearing on the will, the desires, the affections, the con- 
duct. The means by which the lamp may be made to 
burn brightly is by the pouring in of the oil, the re- 



THE SECOND ADVENT. 



39 



plenishing of the " unction of the Holy One, by whom 
we know .all things," who can by his grace give sobriety 
of judgment while he imparts simplicity of faith ; and 
thus guard us, on the one hand, from extravagant inter - 
pretations which bring dishonour on those truths which 
we hold, and keep us, on the other, from that leaning on 
men's judgments and human systems, which may prevent 
our receiving a part of that which God has revealed for 
the edification and blessing of his people. 

I would just, in conclusion, remind you, my brethren, 
who hold this truth in what I conceive to be the real 
scriptural view of it, that you have the greatest cause for 
watchfulness. The eyes of the world are upon you, 
the eyes of those who are suspicious of the tendency of 
such opinions are upon you. Show, through the grace 
of God, that you are equally zealous for all God's truth ; 
that while you are looking for the glorious appearing of 
your Lord, your hope of being admitted to have a share 
in that glory rests on the great doctrines of Justification 
by faith alone in him, and Sane title ation by his Spirit. 
" Christ is in you the hope of glory," because you know 
him as the " Lord your Righteousness." Desire to hold 
all the truth of God in due proportion, and above all, 
pray, and, in dependence on God's grace, strive to have 
ever before you the argument of St. Peter (2 Pet. iii. 
11 to 14) : " Seeing then, that all these things shall be 
dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all 
holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hasting 
unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens 
being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall 
melt with fervent heat ? Nevertheless we, according to 



40 ACTUAL NEGLECT OF THE SECOND ADVENT. 



Ms promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, 
wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, 
seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that 
ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and 
blameless." 



LECTURE III. 



THE DOCTRINE OF THE NEW TESTAMENT ON 
THE TIME OF THE SECOND ADVENT. 



BY THE REV. WILLIAM PYM, M.A., 

VICAR OF WILLIAN, HERTS. 



1 Thess. V. 1—6. 

" But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye ham no 
need that I write unto you. For yourselves know 
perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a 
thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace 
and safety ; then sudden destruction cometh upon 
them, as travail upon a woman with child ; and 
they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in 
darkness, that that day should overtake you as a 
thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the 
children of the day : we are not of the night, nor 
of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do 
others ; but let us watch and be sober." 

The subject, which has been selected for our meditation 
this evening, is The Doctrine of the New Testament 
on the Time of the Second Advent And if there be 



42 



THE NEW TESTAMENT ON THE 



one, which stands prominently forward in the book of 
God, as more important than its fellows, and which is 
therefore deserving of our best attention, it is that of 
the second coming of the Lord. That the Church of 
Christ has long failed to give to it the attention which it 
deserves, none, I think, can deny ; for if it be not per- 
mitted to occupy the same position in our divinity, which 
it confessedly occupies in that of the writers of the Old 
and New Testament, we then fail to follow them as they 
followed Christ. 

The passage which I have selected from St. 
Paul's Epistle to the Thessalonians, refers clearly to 
the subject, and may well form the groundwork of 
our present meditations. I propose, therefore, to view 
it after the following manner, and would endeavour to 
show : 

I. That God has set times, or seasons, for all his 
works. 

II. That he has revealed to his Church the times of 
those operations, in which she has been chiefly interested, 
before their arrival ; 

And I would then inquire : 

III. Whether the time of the Second Advent of the 
Lord is an exception to this rule, according to the doc- 
trine of the New Testament. 

Here let me remind you of our privilege on such 
occasions as the present, which is to look to the Holy 
Ghost as our teacher. May our hearts, therefore, be 
lifted up to him, who sitteth on the right hand of power, 
as the heart of one man, to ask of him this gracious 
gift, and having received that unction of the Holy One, 
may I speak " as the oracles of God," and may you 



TIME OF THE SECOND ADVENT. 



43 



receive the truth in the love of it, to the glory of God by 
us, through Jesus Christ our Lord ! 

I. Our first position is, That God has set times, or 
seasons, for all his works. 

1. The attributes of the Godhead, as the God, who 
governs the world, demand it. 

When we consider the condition in which God placed 
man upon this earth, and his early rebellion against him, 
we might have supposed, that the sin of our first parents 
would have so provoked him that he would have with- 
drawn from it his fatherly care, and excepted this one 
world from his wide-spread administration. But no : he 
still loved it, and watched over it, and upheld it, and 
ordered and overruled all things concerning it. Hence, 
three of the Divine attributes rendered it absolutely 
necessary that he should have had set times, or seasons, 
for all his works in connexion with it. If it were not so, 
what would become of his foreknowledge ? Deprive 
the Divine character of this, and he ceases to be God. 
Again, his manifold wisdom requires it. If it be essen- 
tial to him, as the God who governs the world, that he 
should have known all things concerning it from the 
beginning, as essential is it that he should have 
appointed all things by the rule of his infinite wisdom ; 
and, therefore, set times for everything connected with 
it. And as we know that he is the author not of con- 
fusion, but of order, so we are driven to the like result, 
and must believe, for this reason also, that the thing is 
true. Indeed, the very fact, that sin had brought in 
disorder, and confusion, and every evil work, tends only 
the more eifectually to exhibit the glory of God in this 
respect, and to convince us more powerfully of the exist- 



44 



THE NEW TESTAMENT ON THE 



ence of this feature in his character ; inasmuch as he 
has triumphed thereby over all those evils, and is over- 
riding and directing all to bring about his eternal pur- 
poses. 

2. But his mighty deeds proclaim it, whether ive 
observe them in the ordinances of nature, or examine 
the appointments of his grace. 

Look to the instinctive actings of the fowl of the 
air. Jeremiah tells us, that " The stork in the heaven 
knoweth her appointed times ; and the turtle and the 
crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming.' ' 
(Jer. viii. 7.) Who hath implanted that sure guide 
within them ? God. Look now to the seasons, as 
described in Noah's covenant, " While the earth 
remaineth, seed time and harvest, and cold and heat, 
and summer and winter, and day and night shall not 
cease." (Gen. viii. 22.) And now lift up your heads 
and contemplate the starry heavens above them, and say 
who binds "the sweet influences of the Pleiades," or 
looses " the bands of Orion," who brings forth " Maza- 
roth in his season," or guides • 6 Arcturus and his 
sons." (Job xxxviii. 31.) Have not I the Lord? " He 
appointeth the moon for certain seasons, and the sun 
knoweth his going down." (Psalm civ. 19.) " He 
telleth the number of the stars, he calleth them all by 
their names." (Psalm cxlvii. 4.) In each of these 
cases, the same fact is declared, and of God it is pro- 
claimed that he is a God not of confusion but of 
order, and has set times and seasons for all his opera- 
tions. 

The same doctrine is taught by the ordinances of 
grace. . 



TIME OF THE SECOND ADVENT. 



45 



When the first Adam sinned, what became of man's 
heritage ? It was desolated, and fell into circumstances 
of dissolution. Had Jehovah failed to anticipate this 
state of things, or to provide a remedy for this emer- 
gency ? Let the second Adam reply. 6 i The earth is 
dissolved, I hear up the pillars of it." (Psalm lxxv. 3.) 
The heritage was laid waste, hut God had provided 
Christ to restore the desolation. Hence, .when the 
remedy had been revealed, that the seed of the woman 
should bruise the serpent's head, what, according to 
man's judgment, would be the time for the manifestation 
of this remedy ? We should have expected that it would 
speedily have appeared. But God's ways are not as our 
ways, and four thousand years and more must revolve 
before the great mystery of godliness should be exhibited, 
because then, and not till then, the fulness of time would 
have arrived according to Divine appointment. But, 
when that fulness of time did come, " God sent forth his 
Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem 
them that were under the law, that we might receive the 
adoption of sons." (Gal. iv. 4, 5.) The mind of Eve 
seems to afford an illustration of the doctrine which we 
have advanced. If the idea be correct, which some have 
entertained, that the words (Gen. iv. 1) translated, 4 ' I 
have gotten a man from the Lord," may mean " I have 
gotten the man Jehovah ; ' ' then her thought was, that 
her first-born child should stand in the breach which she 
had made between God and man, and be the peacemaker 
betwixt them. The event proved the unsoundness of her 
expectation ; and it is one mark of our fallen condition to 
entertain incorrect, and, therefore, unbecoming notions of 



46 



THE NEW TESTAMENT ON THE 



God. It was so with them of old time, who, finding that 
they could not rise to his high standard, attempted to 
bring Him down to theirs, and thus measured him by the 
measures of a man. And we walk in their steps, and 
become partakers of their error, when thus we judge 
concerning him. Our God is not a God of expedients 
like man : surprised as it were by this event, and sud- 
denly called upon to provide for that emergency. 
" Known unto God are all his works from the be- 
ginning," and from the unfathomable recesses of his own 
eternity, he has looked forth over all the future concerns 
of time, fore- ordaining everything according to his pre- 
determinate counsel ; and, consistently with that sure 
rule, shall each be unfolded in its season. Thus, I 
think, our first position is established, and we proceed to 
the next : 

II. That God has revealed to his Church the times of 
those operations, in which she has been chiefly interested, 
before their arrival. 

Here permit me to remind you of some few of the 
more prominent instances, recorded in the Scriptures, in 
order to prove our doctrine. 

I first turn to the history of the old world in the days 
of Noah. What was the condition of the Church at that 
time ? It was brought very low : confined to one 
family ; for " all flesh had corrupted his way upon the 
earth," and "Noah alone walked with God." (Gen. vi. 
9, 12.) The universal wickedness called for universal 
judgment. 6 4 It repented the Lord that he had made 
man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart," 
wherefore he came to this conclusion, that the end of all 



TIME OF THE SECOND ADVENT. 



47 



flesh was come, and that he would destroy them with the 
earth. But did the judgment come suddenly, without 
one note of warning to the Church, or to the world ? 
He revealed his purpose to Noah, and granted a respite 
of one hundred and twenty years. (Gen. vi. 3.) Now 
Noah was "a preacher of righteousness ; " hy him, there- 
fore, the world was warned, and during that season 
called to repentance. Here we find a confirmation of our 
doctrine. Here a specific period was revealed to the 
Church of the coming judgment, that Noah might 
prepare an ark for the saving of himself and house. 

I turn next to the Egyptian bondage and deliverance. 
When the Lord covenanted with Abraham, we find that 
he revealed to him many particulars respecting his 
posterity. Thus, in Gen. xv. 13, 14, " He said unto 
Abraham, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a 
stranger in a land that is not their 's, and shall serve 
them ; and they shall afflict them four hundred years ; 
and also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I 
judge : and afterward shall they come out with great 
substance." 

Here, again, were circumstances in which the Church 
was deeply interested. Here was a time of suffering, 
and of deliverance, and how did God deal with her ? He 
revealed both. And the revelation is made with such 
distinctness as to time, that when Moses is recording, 
under the influence of Divine inspiration, the accomplish- 
ment of the promised deliverance, he tells us that on 
"the self-same day" it was fulfilled. "Now the so- 
journing of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, 
was four hundred and thirty years. And it came to pass 
at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the 



48 



THE NEW TESTAMENT ON THE 



self- same day it came to pass that all the hosts of the 
Lord went out from the land of Egypt. It is a night to 
be much observed unto the Lord for bringing them out 
from the land of Egypt : this is that night of the Lord to 
be observed of all the children of Israel in their genera- 
tions." (Exodus xii. 40—42.) 

Let us look forward now, in the Church's history, to 
the seventy years' captivity and return. The long-suffer- 
ing of Jehovah had been wearied out, and, by the mouth 
of Jeremiah, he foretold that judgment was at the door. 
But observe, how in the midst of judgment he remem- 
bered mercy, and how accurately he defined the period 
of the endurance of the one, and of the return of the 
other. ' ' Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts ; Be- 
cause ye have not heard my words, behold, I will send 
and take all the families of the north, saith the Lord, 
and Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, 
and will bring them against this land, and against the 
inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round 
about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an 
astonishment, and an hissing, and perpetual desolations. 
Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth, and 
the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and 
the voice of the bride, the sound of the mill- stones, and 
the light of the candle. And this whole land shall be a 
desolation, and an astonishment ; and these nations shall 
serve the king of Babylon seventy years. And it shall 
come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that 
I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith 
the Lord, for their iniquity, and the land of the 
Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations." 
(Jer. xxv. 8 — 12.) Here was the revelation of a specific 



TIME OF THE SECOND ADVENT. 



49 



time. We find, accordingly, that Daniel was occupied 
with this very revelation of Jeremiah, in order to ascer- 
tain where he stood, as to time, in respect to the promised 
deliverance (Dan. ix. 2) ; and thus we also find another 
confirmation of the truth which is contained in our second 
head. 

We will next attend to the first advent of Christ. 
This was a subject of lively interest to each branch of the 
ransomed Church of God, to things in heaven, as well as 
to things in earth ; for the decease, which he was to 
accomplish in Jerusalem, was the act upon which the 
standing of the spirits of just men, made perfect in 
heavenly places, was depending, as well as the hope of 
the militant branch here on earth. This was the event 
which many prophets and righteous men desired to see, 
but had not seen. What now, in a way of time, had 
God revealed concerning this ? Daniel will inform us. 
" Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon 
thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an 
end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and 
to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up 
the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. 
Know therefore and understand, that from the going 
forth of the commandment to restore and to build 
Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven 
weeks, and threescore and two weeks : the street shall 
be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. 
And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah 
be cut off, but not for himself : and the people of the 
prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the 
sanctuary ; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, 
and unto the end of the war desolations are determined, 

E 



50 



THE NEW TESTAMENT OX THE 



And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one 
week : and in the midst of the week he shall cause the 
sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the over- 
spreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, 
even until the consummation, and that determined shall 
he poured upon the desolate." (Dan. ix. 24- — 27.) 
Here, once more, we discover peculiar accuracy respect- 
ing this then coming event. Here we perceive, that 
God informed the Church so clearly when she was 
to expect Messiah's appearing, that when John the 
Baptist began his ministry, " the people were in expecta- 
tion, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether 
he were the Christ, or not." (Luke iii. 15.) 

But if the coming of the Lord in humiliation was thus 
explicitly declared long before, so was the overthrow of 
the Jewish polity in Church and State. Here we must 
go back to Jacob's prophecy, where we meet with the 
following striking passage : ' ' The sceptre shall not 
depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his 
feet, until Shiloh come ; and unto him shall the gather- 
ing of the people be." (Gen. xlix. 10.) This is com- 
monly referred to the time of the appearing of Jesus 
Christ in the flesh ; but the difficulties attendant upon 
the correct application of this prophecy to the time of 
that corning, oblige me to adopt Joseph Mede's explana- 
tion of it, which I must acknowledge to be satisfactory.* 

* " Some will have it to have been when Pompey first brought 
the Jewish State under the Soman subjection. But against this 
it is objected — First, that it anticipates the time of Christ's birth 
too much, being sixty years before it. Secondly, that it might as 
well be affirmed, that the sceptre departed from Judah when 
Nebuchadnezzar carried them captive to Babylon, or when they 



TIME OF THE SECOND ADVENT. 



51 



Considering our translation to be incorrect, he adopts the 
following : " The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, 
nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come, 
and the gathering of the nations he to him:''' i.e., 
' ■ until Messiah come, and the people or nations be 
gathered unto him, the sceptre shall not depart." 
Where, two things were to take place, before Judah 
ceased from being a commonwealth ; first, the coming 
of Shiloh into the world ; secondly, the gathering of 
the Gentiles to him. At the destruction of the Jewish 
state by Titus, both these things took place ; and we 
derive a confirmation of this view, from the recorded 
fulfilment, in Rom. x. 10, of our Lord's prophecy of 
Matt. xxiv. 14, " And this Gospel of the kingdom shall 
be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations ; 
and then shall the end come." To which St. Paul 

were subject to the Persian or Greek monarchies." " Others 
make it a little after : when Herod, an Idumsean stranger, yet 
formerly incorporated into the Jewish State and blood, was by 
the Romans invested to be their king, and the Asmonsean, or 
Maccabsean race (which till then had borne the chief rule) was 
by him extinguished. Against this, also, lies the exception, that 
it was too early, being thirty years or more before the birth of 
Christ, and more than twice as much before his passion and 
ascension, at which time he began his kingdom." — " If the 
sceptre were departed from Judah, because one, not of their 
own tribe, had the sovereign rule over them, why was it not 
departed all the time the Asmonsean, or Maccabsean families, 
who were Levites, reigned ? No man would say, that the sceptre 
had departed from Poland, though the Polanders should choose 
a Swede, a German, or a Frenchman for their king. So neither 
from Judah, though a Levite or Idumaean proselyte were their 
prince." (From Mede's " Diatribes.") He then establishes what 
is advanced in the text. 

E 2 



52 



THE NEW TESTAMENT OX THE 



evidently refers, in the words which follow : " But I say, 
Have they not heard ? Yes verily, their sound went into 
all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world." 
(Rom. x. 18.) In all which we find our position strength- 
ened. Were it otherwise, where would he the long- 
suffering, the mercy, and the grace of God : those attri- 
butes which form the chief attraction to sinners, in his 
condescending dealings with them ? When he declared 
his name to Moses, and made all his goodness pass 
before him, what was the style in which, as his own 
herald, he proclaimed himself ? " The Lord, the Lord 
God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant 
in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, for- 
giving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by 
no means clear the guilty." (Exod. xxxiv. 6, 7.) He 
said nothing of his power, little of his justice, and 
nothing of his holiness. He had to deal with sinners. 
And if, when the holiness of God is displayed, man 
hides his face before him ; if, when his justice is declared, 
man lays his hand upon his mouth ; if, when his power 
utters its voice in thunders, the holiest of men may say, 
4 i I exceedingly fear and quake : " when the still small 
voice of mercy is heard, he begins to lift up his head ; 
when his grace is proclaimed, he feels encouragement to 
draw near to him ; when his long-suffering is unfolded, 
he comes, and with a holy boldness, to a throne of grace. 
Our God has not forgotten to be gracious in his dealings 
with his Church ; for, " in these things I delight, saith 
the Lord." 

III. And is the time of the Second Advent an excep- 
tion to this rule ? 

This, need I say it, is the great event towards which 



TIME OF THE SECOND ADVENT. 



53 



the eye of faith has been turned from the very first. To 
this, as to a centre, every thought, and word, and work of 
every intelligent creature, has been proceeding. Toward 
this the whole current of time has been flowing, and all 
the concerns of men shall be found to have brought in 
their tributary streams, " when, in the dispensation of the 
fulness of the times God will gather together in one all 
things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are 
on earth; even in him." (Eph. i. 10.) And has God 
hung clouds and darkness around it ? Has he shrouded 
it with a mystery which no wisdom can pierce ? Has he 
placed cherubim, and a flaming sword, which turns every 
way, to prevent access to this tree of knowledge ? God 
has done none of these things ; it is man's unbelief that 
has thrown obscurity around it : it is man's unbelief that 
has hung the veil before it : it is man's unbelief that 
hinders our ready access to it. "What, therefore, is to be 
done ? Stretch forth the hand of faith, and rend that 
veil in twain, from the top even to the bottom, and be not 
faithless, but believing. 

1. We will now endeavour to reconcile some apparent 
contradictions in the Scriptures concerning it ; and then, 

2. Show what is the New Testament doctrine upon 
the subject. 

I here lay much stress upon the word apparent ; for 
there can be no actual contradiction in Holy Writ. Can 
we, for one moment, suppose the Holy Spirit to be 
divided against himself ? It is impossible. Can we 
conceive, that the Divine testimony shall at one time say 
Yea, at another, Nay ? The supposition is inconceivable. 
The stream of Divine truth, which at the first issued from 
the throne of God, has run on from the beginning in one 



54 



THE NEW TESTAMENT ON THE 



continuous course through, time, and shall do so even to 
the end. There neither have been, nor ever can he, any 
opposing currents. It turns at no season " as the streams 
in the south." (Psalm cxxvi. 4.) There is a sweet and 
all-pervading concord throughout the whole of the Divine 
testimony in the Word ; and if you touch hut one string, 
every other shall vibrate, for there is a chord of harmony 
which passes through them all. 

The Scriptures which I shall now adduce are two, as 
being among the most important of those to which I have 
referred, being those also which are most commonly 
brought forward as opposed to all expectation of know- 
ledge respecting the time of the Lord's appearing. 
Matt. xxiv. 32 — 36, is the first. " Now learn a parable 
of the fig-tree ; When his branch is yet tender, and 
putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh : so 
likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that 
it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, 
This generation shall not pass, till all these things be 
fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my 
words shall not pass away. But of that day and hour 
knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my 
Father only." Here is an apparent contradiction. Our 
Lord hath replied to the questions, proposed to him by 
his people, as recorded in the third verse. He then 
assures them, that when the things of which he had been 
speaking should come to pass, they (i. e., the generation 
who should witness those things) might as certainly know 
that he was near, even at the doors, as the inhabitants of 
Judee a knew that summer was nigh when the fig-tree put 
forth its leaves. He then adds, " But of that day and 
hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but 



TIME OF THE SECOND ADVENT. 55 

my Father only." We add to this, from St. Mark's 
Gospel, ' ' neither the Son ; " for at that time it had not 
been revealed to him. There appear to have been three 
periods in the history of our blessed Lord when he 
received the gift of "the Spirit : at his conception : at his 
baptism, when he was inaugurated into the office of the 
high priesthood ; and when he ascended up on high, 
having led captivity captive, and received gifts for men. 
Accordingly, on the day of Pentecost, having received of 
the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he shed forth 
that which those present then saw and heard. Then, 
doubtless, the human nature of the Lord had received the 
fulness of wisdom as intimated in the ascription of praise 
to him by the Church above. (Rev. v. 12.) Most true 
it was, that when our Lord spake, the time of his coming 
was unknown, save to God only : but no less true must it 
be, that the generation who should witness that advent 
should be enabled to ascertain, by the signs with which 
he would furnish them, that he was nigh, even at their 
very doors, as did the Judsean that summer was nigh 
when the fig-tree put forth its leaves. Now look to what 
immediately follows. " But as the days of Noe were, so 
shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in 
the days that were before the flood they were eating and 
drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day 
that Noe entered into the ark, and knew not until the 
flood came, and took them all away ; so shall also the 
coming of the Son of man be." (Matt. xxiv. 37 — 39.) 
From this it is clear, that the ungodly world " knew not," 
because they believed not the testimony of that preacher 
of righteousness. But Noah knew. So shall it be in 



56 



THE NEW TESTAMENT ON THE 



the corresponding season. They who believe not the 
testimony of " Behold, the bridegroom cometh," shall not 
know, because of unbelief. But they who believe, and, 
like Noah, are looking for the fulfilment of the word, and 
therefore, for Christ's appearing, shall know, or else the 
parallel fails. 

Again, Acts i. 6, 7, " When they therefore were come 
together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at 
this time restore again the kingdom to Israel ? And he 
said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the 
seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power," 
is another passage which is always pressed into this 
service. If our blessed Lord intended that the time, 
when he would restore the kingdom to Israel, should 
alway be hid, which is connected also with his return in 
glory, why did the Holy Ghost, in taking of the things of 
Christ and showing them to the Apostle Paul, teach him 
to write to the Thessalonians the words of our text ? 
According to the extent- of the meaning, which is given 
commonly to that passage of the Acts, what St. Paul 
has written cannot be true ; and no Christian man will 
allow that. How, therefore, are they to be reconciled ? 
We must look to the later communication of the Lord to 
the Church by the Spirit ; and looking to that, we are 
constrained to own, that though previous to his ascension 
the time of his return in glory was not known, he made 
such further revelations respecting it to his people, that 
they need no longer be in darkness, that that day should 
overtake them as a thief, but should possess such know- 
ledge of times and seasons as effectually to prepare them 
for the coming of the Lord. I see not how it is possible, 



TIME OF THE SECOND ADVENT. 



57 



without involving the absolute denial of the truth of many 
parts of God's Word, to view this in any other light. 
Having thus shown, I trust, how these passages may he 
reconciled, I proceed to consider, 

2. The New Testament doctrine upon the subject. 

Here it will be very needful to distinguish clearly the 
scriptural use of three terms, which are employed to 
describe either the whole time, or portions of the time 
between the two advents. 

An accurate observation of the words employed, with 
this reference, will teach us, 

1st. That the whole period, between the first and 
second coming of the Lord, is called generally, the last 
times, or days. 

Thus, Acts ii. 17, " And it shall come to pass in the 
last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all 
flesh," &c. Again, 2 Tim. iii. 1, St. Paul is describing 
what shall occur during that period, and he says, " This 
know also, that in the last days perilous times shall 
come," &c. Another instance of it is found, Heb. i. 
1, 2, " God, who at sundry times and in divers manners 
spake in times past unto the fathers by the prophets, 
hath in these last days spoken unio us by his Son." In 
each of which places we find the times of the Christian 
Church, or dispensation, described by the term, " the last 
days." 

2d. The latter portion of these last times is set forth 
by the expression, "the latter times." Thus, when St. 
Paul, himself living in the last days or times, foretels an 
event which should hereafter take place in them, he 
marks the time of that event by the use of the expres- 
sion, " the latter times.'" Thus, 1 Tim. iv. 1, " Now 



58 



THE >VEW TESTAMENT OX THE 



the Spirit speaketli expressly, that, in the latter times, 
some shall depart from the faith," &c.* 

3d. "When the actual winding up of these last times is 
described, it is by the term, " the last day, or time." 

So St. Peter employs it, 1 Pet. i. 5, " "Who are kept 
by the power of God. through faith imto salvation ready 
to be revealed in the last time." In St. John's Gospel 
the term is used by our Lord four times in one chapter, 
and on each occasion connected with the resurrection of 
the dead. John vi. 39, 40, 41-, 54, " And this is the 
Father's will, which hath sent me, that of all that he 
hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it 
up again, at the last day." Martha, the sister of 
Lazarus, employs the same, when looking to the same 
season. John xi. 24, " Martha saith unto him, I know 
that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last 
day." And this is an expression distinct from that 
which St. John employs, 1 John ii. 18, where he says, 
" Little children, it is the last time (or hour) ;t and as 
ye have heard that Antichrist shall come, even now are 
there many Antichrists ; whereby we know that it is the 
last time." The season, which he there described, as 
the last time or hour, was then at hand, and must there- 
fore be different from that which is connected, in other 
passages, with the resurrection of the dead. It has 
accordingly been considered, by that eminent expositor 
Joseph Mede, that it referred to the dissolution of the 
Jewish polity, which was then at hand, wherefore the 
term so used by St. John correctly referred to that 

* See Xote A. 

f The word employed by St. John in this place is upa, not 
fjfiEpa, which last is the word used in the other passages. 



TIME OF THE SECOND ADVENT. 



59 



approaching judgment. It was then, strictly speaking, 
the last hour, for the dissolution of their polity in Church 
and State was then nigh, even at the door. 

With these distinctive terms in our minds, I proceed to 
show, that God has revealed notable events, which are to 
succeed each other, as links in a chain, during these last 
times, and to these it will he well now to turn, as from 
them we may gather the time of the second coming of the 
Lord. I cannot here refrain from quoting a valuable rule 
of the same distinguished man, of whom I have just 
spoken, which belongs to this part of our subject. " The 
times are set out unto us to be as marks to inform us, 
when that shall come to pass, which was to fall out in 
them, and not the things which were to befall, intended 
for signs to know the times by." (Apost., p. 67.) I 
consider this rule valuable for the following reason, 
because, whilst the latter part only is usually considered, 
the former is almost, if not altogether, forgotten. Now 
it is our privilege to employ both: for I think our 
Saviour's words qualify the last clause of it. We should 
do the one, and not leave the other undone. And this I 
propose doing on the present occasion. What, now, are 
those notable events which form the successive links in 
the prophetic chain, of which we have been speaking ? 

1. The preaching of the Gospel in the prophetic earth. 
Matt. xxiv. 14 ; Rom. x. 18. 

2. Jerusalem's overthrow. Matt. xxiv. 2. 

3. The Pagan persecutions. Dan. xi. 32, 33 ; Rev. ii. 
10 ; xii. 4. 

4. Pagan Rome Christianized. Rev. vi. 2. 

5. The decline and fall of Rome, or fourth kingdom. 
Dan. ii. 41 ; vii. 24 ; Rev. xvii. 10. 



60 



THE NEW TESTAMENT OX THE 



6. The rise of the ten kingdoms. Dan. vii. 7, 24. 

7. The rise of Papal Rome with her triple crown. 
Dan. vii. 8, 24. 

8. The rise of the Eastern Antichrist. Dan. yiii. 23 ; 
Rev. vi. 8. 

9. The 1260 years of Papal oppression of the saints. 
Dan. vii. 21 ; Rev. xii. 6, 14. 

10. The consumption of the Papacy by the breath of the 
Lord's mouth. 2 Thess. ii. 8. 

11. The heaving of the great earthquake, by which the 
powers of Christendom should be shaken. Rev. vi. 12. 

12. The wasting away of the Eastern Antichrist. Rev. 
rvi. 12. 

13. The going forth of the three unclean spirits. Rev. 
xvi. 13. 

14. The preaching of the Gospel to every nation, and 
kindred, and tongue, and people. Rev. xiv. 6.* 

15. The pity of the Lord's servants for Zion. Psalm cii. 
13, 14. . 

16. The sign of the Son of man in heaven. Matt. xxiv. 
30. 

17. The first resurrection, and rapture of the saints. 
Rev. xx. 4—6 ; 1 Thess. iv. 15—17 ; 1 Cor. xv. 23. 

18. The coming of Elijah the Prophet. Mai. iv. 5. 

19. The judgments upon the ungodly world. Isa. xxxiv. 
1_8 ; lxvi. 15, 16 ; Dan. xii. 1 ; Matt. xxiv. 21 ; 
Rev. xvi. 18, 20, 21. 

* Observe bow different are the terms employed in this pre- 
diction of the preaching of the Gospel before the Lord come, and 
that foretold by him, Matt xxiv. 14, which was fulfilled before 
the judgment upon the Jews there predicted: this latter being 
more extensive than the former. 



TIME OF THE SECOND ADVENT. 



61 



20. The Lord's descent upon this earth. Acts i. 11 ; 
1 Thess. iv. 16 ; Rev. i. 7. 

21. The restoration of Abraham's seed. Jer. xxiii. 3 — 8 ; 
xxx i. 7' — 12 ; Ezek. xxxvii. ; Dan. xii. 1, 7, &c. 

22. The thousand years' reign of righteousness and peace. 
Isa. xxiv. 23 ; Rev. xx. 4, 6. 

In this we see a regular series of events, found in the 
book of God, as those which were to occur during the 
last times, with some of which specific numbers* are 
associated : with others, some notes of warning are con- 
nected : which, when they are heard, inform us certainly 
of their presence, and consequently of our arrival at such 
given periods in the last times. 

From the above review, several important conclusions 
may be drawn. And, first, as it respects the question, 
we have proposed, respecting the second advent. 

God has not forgotten to be gracious in this case, nor 
acted contrary to his accustomed rule of mercy, of giving 
warning to his Church of the great coming events, in 
which she is concerned. He has warned her of her 
Lord's approach. He has given her a prophetic state- 
ment of many which should surely succeed each other in 
their appointed season, some of which were " shortly to 
come to pass,"i after the vision had been communicated 
by Jesus Christ, to his servant John, and should so con- 
tinue, in due succession, until the whole should be wound 
up, or concluded, by the coming of the Lord in glory. 

* Note B. 

y This assurance, with which the book of the Revelation opens, 
chap. i. 1, is repeated at its close, chap. xxii. 6, showing clearly, 
that the fulfilment of the larger part of those predictions was not 
to be postponed until the end of the times of the Gentiles. 



62 



THE NEW TESTAMENT OX THE 



Another, and in connexion with our present subject, a 
most important inference, must be, that the next appearing 
of the Lord shall he pre-millennial. 

Examine the course of predicted events, and what do 
we find ? The condition of this world, continuing as it has 
been since the first entry of sin into it, groaning and 
travailing in pain. No cessation from this state, no rest, 
no peace. The wicked never ceasing from troubling, the 
proud still called happy, death still holding men in fear 
and bondage, and sorrow and sighing still forming a part 
of man's inheritance from his fathers. And how and 
when is this sad state to be concluded, and what shall 
succeed it ? It can be concluded only by the appearing 
of the Lord, because, when he comes, he will find our 
miserable world in this sin and sorrow-bound condition ? 
because from this he is the deliverer ; because, by the 
brightness of his Epiphany, he shall put a stop to these 
things ; because until he come, Satan's usurped, but 
permitted dominion, shall continue, and while that re- 
maineth, no millenniary blessedness can succeed ; because, 
until he come, the tares and the wheat are intermingled, 
intermixed also the sheep with the goats ; because, until 
he come, Judah shall not be saved, nor shall Israel dwell 
safely : and until that be brought about there can be no 
" life from the dead," no millenniary blessedness for our 
world, no keeping of a Sabbath for man. But, when he 
appears, sorrow and sighing shall flee away ; when he 
appears, he will renew the face of the earth which he 
has made for man ; when he appears, he brings all his 
saints with him to fulfil their long-cherished expectation 
of reigning with him on the earth : then he will restore 
the kingdom to Israel : then the meek-spirited shall 



TIME OF THE SECOND ADVENT. 



63 



possess the earth, and be refreshed in the multitude 
of peacei For a reason composed of all these reasons 
the time of the second advent of the Lord must be pre- 
millennial. And this receives confirmation from our 
Lord's most plain testimony to the state in which he will 
find the earth, when he comes. It is to be as it was both 
in Noah's and Lot's day. If, therefore, the earth was 
then in a condition of millennial blessedness, so it will be 
when the Lord shall come ; but if, as all must confess, 
it was in each of those cases in a condition of open 
rebellion against God, then the inference is clear, that 
the Lord must come to subdue this rebellious state, 
and having done this, then to introduce the millennial 
blessedness. 

But another important effect of considering the course 
of events, which are foretold as to occur during the last 
times, is this : that we can place our finger upon the very 
point at which we have arrived in the prophetic history. 
We can look through the whole course, and divide the 
fulfilled from the unfulfilled, the accomplished from what 
yet remains to be. And when we do so in the present 
case, and look back upon the foregoing catalogue, where 
does the mind necessarily rest, saying, thus far we have 
reached ? We fix naturally, and almost by a common 
consent, upon the preaching of the Gospel in all the 
earth ; and the exhibition of pity, on the part of the 
hordes servants, for Zion, and her desolate condition. 
But if we do this, what is the necessary conclusion ? 
That the hour of God's judgment is come (Rev. xiv. 7) ; 
that the Lord is about to build up Zion, and is, therefore, 
about to appear in his glory. (Psalm cii. 16.) In each 
case, if the one be true, the other is true likewise, for the 



64 



THE NEW TESTAMENT OX THE 



one is the very forerunner of the other. And if our 
attention he directed to the events which have lately 
occurred in the East, and consider how wide a door has 
been opened in China for the introduction of the preached 
Word : when we also call to mind the becoming zeal 
which has been evinced by many who reject the doctrines 
we have been advocating, we cannot fail to observe how 
they are actually uniting to bring about these very pur- 
poses of God, and are hastening his kingdom. 

The practical duty from the whole appears to be this : 
to search the Scriptures of the Prophets, tcith reference 
to the second advent of the Lord, and to prepare for 
the things which, tcith that advent, are surely coming 
on the earth. The first, because the most important of 
all, is the return of our Lord in glory ; and what heart is 
able to conceive, and, therefore, what tongue to describe, 
the attendant circumstances of that event ? It is enough 
for us to know that that event is sure ; and that that sure 
event is nigh : that " He that shall come will come, and 
will not tarry;" and that in that day "the just shall 
live by faith." Hence, as the Lord has warned the 
Church, and through the Church, the world, of his 
approach, and the very notes of this warning are even 
sounding in our ears, it becomes us not to refuse to hear, 
but rather to hear and believe that we may live. Hence, 
as he has long before furnished us with a course of pre- 
dicted events, to be fulfilled during the last times, some 
of which were to begin to be accomplished shortly after 
they had been revealed (see Rev. i. 1, and xxii. 6) ; and 
we can now look back upon our own history and see that 
the accomplishment of by far the greater part has actually 
taken place, surely it is our highest wisdom not to close 



TIME OF THE SECOND ADVENT. 



65 



our eyes against this solemn fact, and its more solemn 
consequence, that upon us the ends of the world are 
come, and that this generation shall witness the advent 
of the Lord in glory, to introduce the millenniary reign 
of righteousness and peace. We do not expect that 
44 the world " shall receive our testimony, for the Word 
of God predicts, that that day shall overtake it as a thief. 
We do not anticipate, that the nearness of the Lord's 
approach will become a favourite subject of divinity in 
the Church, for the Lord intimates that this will not he 
the case ; and in this there will be a parallel between the 
state of the professing Church as touching his first and 
last appearing. 4 4 I have not found so great faith, no, 
not in Israel," he remarked, at his first advent. The 
visible Church rejected him in a body. 44 He came unto 
his own, and his own received him not." And when he 
comes next unto his own, will he find the Church pre- 
pared for his appearing ? 4 4 When the Son of man 
cometh shall he find faith on the earth ? " Of this, I 
conceive, he speaks in these words, and the inference is 
clear, that he will not find it. There shall be compara- 
tively few in a waiting posture to receive him. Faith 
that advent is the scriptural state of preparation, a living 
principle of faith opposed to that described in the parable, 
which leads many to say, 44 My Lord delayeth his 
coming ; " for where this is found it teaches them that 
have it to 44 look for him;" and 44 unto them that look 
for him, shall he appear a second time without sin unto 
salvation." 

Another, and most important expectation, connected 
with that advent of the Lord, is the first resurrection. 
Here I say little concerning it, because it is to form, God 

F 



66 



THE NEW TESTAMENT OX THE 



willing, the special subject for an occasion similar to the 
present : but by way of applying the doctrine, which has 
been delivered, I merely name it as one of those 
stupendous events which should excite us to a diligent 
search of the Scriptures whether these things be so ; 
and, therefore, whether it be not consistent with our 
highest interest and dutv to give them the greatest heed. 
When we reflect, that in that day of which we speak, 
sorrow and sighing shall for ever flee away, they who 
know what sorrow and sighing mean may well desire it. 
When we are assured, that in that day God himself shall 
wipe away tears from all faces, they who too well know 
what it is to shed tears of bitterness may well long for its 
rising, as then they shall bid an eternal farewell to all 
the troubles of our fallen humanity, and exchange them 
for joy unspeakable and fulness of glory. 



Note A. 

It may be objected, that if St. Paul designed to describe, as 
Mede concludes that he did, and I believe correctly, the apostasy 
of the Romish Church, by the words of 1 Tim. iv. 1 — 3, this 
explanation of the term, "latter times," cannot be maintained. 
The reply is readily furnished. The apostasy of the Eomish 
Church, and her persecution of the saints (Dan. vii. 21, 25), were 
to occupy a long period of "the last days," that is, 1260 years, of 
little more than 1800 ; and as the persecuting power of the 
Papacy was to exist with more or less intensity during that 
period (Dan. vii. 26), and shall only be destroyed at the close of 
the last days, the predicted period, commencing, as we believe, in 
the sixth century, and continuing to the end, is correctly described 



TIME OF THE SECOND ADVENT. 



67 



by the term of " the latter days," here employed, in the sense to 
which we have alluded. 

Note B. 

It was expected, I believe, by some, that a reference would 
have been made in this lecture to the specific numbers which are 
found in Scripture to bear upon the coming of the Lord. But, 
as the evidence to the time of the second advent was to be confined 
to the New Testament, it rendered it almost impossible to do 
this, as the numbers, which are found in the Old Testament, are 
necessary to form a complete scheme. 



LECTURE IV. 



THE DOCTRINE OE THE OLD TESTAMENT OX THE 
TIME OE THE SECOXD ADVENT. 



BY THE REV. C. J. GOODHART, M.A., 

MINISTER OF ST. MARK'S CHAPEL, READING. 



Zech. XIV. 5. 

" And the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints 
with thee." 

It is a solemn subject on which we are to treat this 
night. " Behold he coineth with clouds, and every eve 
shall see him ! 99 It is to prepare for this that we are 
called to preach, and you to hear. Endeavour, then, as 
much as you can, to make the application to yourselves, 
of all we shall now bring before you. Feel assured that 
of all such knowledge which we com m unicate vou must 
oive an account ; and listen to-night, not as vou would to 
a lecture on science, but with the earnest desire to be 
wise unto salvation, and to gain a deeper acquaintance 
with those heart- stirring truths, the full development of 
which is reserved for the everlasting joy which awaits the 
Church of God at the right hand of its Father. AVe are 



THE OLD TESTAMENT, &C. 



69 



often told that these things are not practical. Now we 
know the contrary. But still it is very true that much 
teaching may he necessary hefore we can come to the 
practical application, or hefore you are capable of that 
application. It is a subject of the very principles of 
which the Church for a long time has been exceedingly 
ignorant. It involves a portion of the Word of God, 
which for many ages has been comparatively shut up. 
The prophecies of the Old Testament have, for the most 
part, been read with as much of a veil on the heart of 
the Christian, as there was formerly on the heart of a 
Jew, with reference to their true understanding. And 
until, therefore, we have brought out the principles of 
their scriptural interpretation, and made our people 
acquainted with them, it is impossible in the nature of 
things to bring this great subject to a practical bearing 
on their consciences. We must first interpret, and 
afterwards apply. 

It will be unnecessary for me to dwell here on these 
principles of interpretation, as they have already been 
explained and established in the first lecture. I must 
only remind you that all I have to offer on the subject, 
proposed for our present meditation, is founded on those 
principles, and proceeds on the supposition that they are 
admitted. If any demur to their admission, the following 
remarks must, under such circumstances, not be considered 
as intended for them. Our subject to-night, then, is 
defined to be " the Doctrine of the Old Testament on the 
Time of the Second Advent." And here I would premise 
that I intend to say very little myself on the point. My 
object will rather be to let Scripture speak for itself, a 
remark or two being occasionally thrown in to point out 



70 



THE OLD TESTAMENT ON THE 



the results which appear justly and fairly deducible from 
the passages quoted. May the Holy Ghost condescend 
abundantly to bless his own word to all our hearts, for our 
abiding instruction and comfort ! 

I. To the question, then, What does the Old Testament 
state as to the time of Christ's second personal advent 
in glory ? we -answer, that it will be before the Mil- 
lennium. 

By Millennium, I mean, of course, that period of 1,000 
years mentioned in the twentieth chapter of the Revela- 
tion. This expression does not occur, nor is the period 
defined, in the Old Testament ; but it is nevertheless 
easily and certainly identified with the days there spoken 
of, when the " knowledge of the Lord shall cover the 
earth as the waters cover the sea," and the whole earth 
shall be restored to holiness and beauty. 

Out of the many passages, therefore, which speak of 
the coming of the Lord in the Old Testament, it will be 
my object to select those which establish its relative 
connexion with this glorious period. I will mention them 
in the order in which they stand in the Word of God. 

1. Let us begin with the Book of Psalms ; and in 
the second Psalm we have at once a brief outline of the 
events, the order of which we are in search of. In 
verses 1« — 3, we have the rage of the Heathen and their 
princes described. These verses are quoted (Acts iv. 
25, 26), as applicable to the circumstances of our Lord's 
crucifixion ; and so they certainly are, but still it is 
evident that the words did not then receive their full 
accomplishment, if we are to understand them, as we 
feel bound to do, in their literal meaning. For he did 
not then speak unto the Heathen in his wrath, or vex 



TIME OF THE SECOND ADVENT. 



71 



them in his sore displeasure ; but, on the contrary, he 
gave the Jews up to the fury of the Gentiles, and they 
ruled over them. We refer them, therefore, to the final 
rage of the Heathen and of the kings of the earth 
against Christ. The Lord, then, in verses 4, 5, declares 
how he will treat them. In verse 6, he states, by pro- 
phetic anticipation, the setting up of Jesus as King on 
the literal Zion, which we shall find spoken of afterwards 
again and again. In verse 7, is set forth the decree of 
which this exaltation is the result, namely, his Sonship 
declared with power by his resurrection from the dead : 
together with the promise connected with it, that he 
should have the Heathen for his inheritance, and that he 
should execute upon them his tremendous judgments in 
fully establishing his authority. 

Now, on all this it is enough for our purpose to remark, 
that we have here the coming of Christ implied in his 
being set on the Hill of Zion ; and instead of what is 
usually called the final judgment and the destruction of 
all earthly things, we have our Lord subsequently re- 
ceiving the Heathen for his inheritance, and the utter- 
most parts of the earth for his possession ; that is, in 
other words, his coming to reign on Mount Zion is before 
the Millennium. 

This passage does not mention the coming of the 
Lord distinctly, though it most clearly implies it, but I 
thought it best to notice it, as standing first in the re- 
markable book from which it is taken. Our argument 
from it may be met by a spiritual interpretation ; but we 
may just repeat, once for all, that we have no intention 
here of attempting to answer principles, which we must 
be allowed, in this discourse, to consider as already dis- 



72 



THE OLD TESTAMENT ON THE 



posed of. A few other Psalms, out of many, where the 
sequence of events will be found exactly similar, are the 
45th, 46th, 47th, 48th, 68th, 72d, 89th, 96th— 99th, 
and 102d. 

2. The next passage to which I refer you in proof of 
our position, is Isaiah ix. In the former verses of the 
chapter, the first coming of our Lord is evidently referred 
to ; but in the fourth and fifth verses the passage passes 
on, as is continually the case, to his second coming, at 
which the battle is described to be with burning, and fuel 
of fire : while in the 7th verse Christ is set forth as 
sitting upon the throne of David, to order it and to estab- 
lish it from that time for ever. Here is, therefore, again 
the Millennium after Christ's coming. 

3. The same is the case in the eleventh chapter of the 
same prophet. Verses 1 — 5 describe the reign of the 
Messiah as the literal Son of David in righteousness and 
judgment. He is called distinctly a rod out of the stem 
of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots. And, after a 
statement of the vengeance he shall execute upon his 
enemies, there follows one of the clearest prophecies to 
be found anywhere of the millennial blessedness of the 
earth (verses 6 — 9), with the calling in of the Gentiles 
(verse 10), and the full glory of the Jews (verse 11 to 
end, and chap. xii.). 

4. In Isaiah xxiv. — xxvii., we have the same line of 
prophecy, in a much more extended form. This portion 
well deserves the closest examination. I will only refer 
you especially to chap. xxiv. 23, " Then the moon shall 
be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the Lord of 
hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and 
before his ancients gloriously : " and to the results of this 



TIME OF THE SECOND ADVENT. 



73 



coming, as subsequently stated, more particularly, chap, 
xxvi. 1, " In that day shall this song be sung in the land 
of Judah ; We have a strong city ; salvation will God 
appoint for walls and bulwarks," &c. : and chap, xxvii. 
12, 13, " And it shall come to pass in that day, that 
the Lord shall beat off from the channel of the river unto 
the stream of Egypt, and ye shall be gathered one by 
one, 0 ye children of Israel. And it shall come to pass 
in that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown, and 
they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of 
Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall 
worship the Lord in the holy mount at Jerusalem.' * 
Here we have, as plainly as possible, the period of 
millennial blessedness, succeeding the personal advent of 
Jesus, and the result of it. 

A few other passages in this same prophet, where the 
same view is either stated or implied, are as follows : — 
Isaiah ii. — iv ; xxx. 17, to the end ; xxxv. 4, &c. ; xl. 
10, 11 ; lix. 16, &c. ; lxi. 1, &c, compared with lxii. 
10—12 ; lxiii. 1—6 ; lxvi. 5, 6, 15, to the end. 

5. In Jeremiah iii. 17, 18, we find Jerusalem is to be 
the throne of the Lord as their then present king, and 
that in those days " the house of Judah is to walk with 
the house of Israel" "in the land of their fathers." 
But in chap, xxiii., and at much greater length in chap, 
xxxiii. 14, and following verses, we have a still more 
explicit statement. In verse 14, we have these remark- 
able words : " Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, 
that I will perform the good thing which I have promised 
to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah." And 
when we inquire what this is, — " In those days," he adds, 
" and at that time, will I cause the Branch of Righteous- 



74 



THE OLD TESTAMENT OX THE 



ness to grow up unto David ; and he shall execute 
judgment and righteousness in the land." What is this 
hut a personal advent and a personal reign ? — " In those 
days shall Judah be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely." 
What is this hut a Millennium succeeding ? The re- 
mainder of the chapter, which we cannot quote here, 
should he carefully read and considered. 

Other passages in this prophet are, chap. xxv. 30, 
&c. ; xxx. 1, &c. ; xxxi. 22, to the end ; with several 
more. 

6. In Ezekiel, among other passages, we find the 
following : — xliii. 7 — 9, " And he said unto me, Son of 
man, the place of my throne, and the place of the 
soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of 

the children of Israel for ever ; and I will 

dwell in the midst of them for ever." xliv. 2, "Then 
said the Lord unto me ; This gate shall he shut, it 
shall not he opened, and no man shall enter in by it ; 
because the Lord, the God of Israel, hath entered in 
by it, therefore it shall be shut." xlviii. 35, "And 
the name of the city from that day shall be, The 
Lord is there." 

We are at a loss to know what such passages as 
these mean, if a personal presence of Christ on earth 
is not intended ; while they as clearly indicate, that 
the result of that presence, and not a preliminary to it, 
will be that state of holiness and happiness on this 
our world, extending both to Jews and Gentiles, which 
we call conventionally the Millennium. 

Other passages are, Ezek. xxxiv., xxxvi., xxxvii., and 
following. 

7. In opening the prophecies of Daniel, we turn at 



TIME OF THE SECOND ADVENT. 



75 



once to the seventh chapter. On the interpretation of 
this passage there is considerable diversity of opinion ; 
and yet, for the most part, none which affects the point 
we are seeking to demonstrate. The Millennium is 
clearly identified in verses 14 and 27, the former of 
which is, " And there was given him dominion, and 
glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and 
languages, should serve him : his dominion is an ever- 
lasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his 
kingdom that which shall not be destroyed." And if 
any question could remain, whether this kingdom were in 
heaven or in earth, it is distinctly called in ver. 27, " the 
kingdom under the whole heaven." Now, whatever the 
four beasts be interpreted to signify, the fourth is 
destroyed at the coming of the Ancient of days ; who, 
from the interpretation of the vision in the latter part of 
the chapter, and from the parallel passage in Rev. i., I 
have no doubt is Christ. And this coming is, as clearly 
as possible, previous to the period of blessedness, which 
we have above shown to be identical with the Millennium. 
If, however, "the Son of man" (or, as it ought more 
properly to be, "a son of man"), who seems to me to 
symbolize the saints, be considered to be our Lord, his 
coming is clearly enough at the same time, and the 
argument from the passage remains unshaken. 

To those who believe that Michael is our Lord, the 
twelfth chapter, ver. 1, taken in its connexion, is at once 
equally conclusive. If, as my own impression is, he is 
not our Lord, but the created archangel, the same con- 
clusion, of the advent of the Saviour being pre-millennial, 
is arrived at through 1 Thess. iv. 16 ; where the descent 



76 



THE OLD TESTAMENT OX THE 



of Christ from heaven, and the voice of the archano-el 

o 

(Michael, Jude 9) are linked closely together. 

We will now proceed to notice a few passages in the 
minor prophets, including that from which our text is 
taken : a very limited selection is all we can bring before 
you. 

8. In Joel iii. 16, 17, 20, 21, we read as follows 
6 ' The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his 
voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth 
shall shake : but the Lord will be the hope of his people, 
and the strength of the children of Israel. So shall ye 
know that I am the Lord your God dwelling in Zion, my 
holy mountain : then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there 

shall no strangers pass through her any more 

But Judah shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem from 
generation to generation. For I will cleanse their blood 
that I have not cleansed : for the Lord dwelleth in Zion." 
(See also the whole prophecy.) 

Now any comment upon such a passage must be need- 
less ; if, that is, we understand words to mean what they 
express. Here, as plainly as possible, is the coming and 
presence of the Lord in Zion ; and as plainly the blessed- 
ness of the Jews afterwards, which is characteristic of 
the Millennium. 

It is attempted, indeed, to turn the edge of this 
passage by the circumstance of Peter's quoting it on the 
day of Pentecost ; but the answer to this is very simple. 
The prophecy of a future event may afford a most apt 
illustration of an event passed or passing ; and in this 
case it may be used quite independently of its context, 
and without any reference to its actual fulfilment : while, 



TIME OF THE SECOITO ADVENT. 77 

on the other hand, an event can only fulfil a prophecy 
really and truly, and not merely by accommodation, when 
it answers accurately to the prophecy in itself and in its 
connexion. Now in the passage before us, the prophecy 
quoted by Peter is fastened down (Joel iii. 1) to those 
days and to that time when the Lord shall bring again the 
captivity of Judah and Jerusalem. While, therefore, the 
prophecy strikingly illustrates the Pentecostal effusion, 
the latter can never be admitted as the plenary and strict 
fulfilment of it. 

9. In Micah ii. 12, 13 ; iv. 1—8 ; v. 1, &c, we ^nd 
prophetic statements of the same clear character. It will 
be sufficient to quote the last of these, especially as it 
affords a valuable instance of the close connexion in 
prophecy of the first and second advents. " But thou, 
Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the 
thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth 
unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings 
forth have been from of old, from everlasting. Therefore 
will he give them up, until the time that she which 
travaileth hath brought forth : then the remnant of his 
brethren shall return unto the children of Israel. And 
he shall stand and feed (rule, marg.) in the strength of 
the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his 
God ; and they shall abide : for now shall he be great 
unto the ends of the earth. And this man shall be the 
peace, when the Assyrian (i. e., the Antichrist) shall 
come into our land." 

The above is so exactly parallel to the passages already 
quoted, that there is no necessity to make any comment. 

See also, Zephaniah iii. 8, to the end, which is, if 
possible, still more explicit. 



78 



THE OLD TESTAMENT OX THE 



10. The last passage I shall quote (though it would be 
easy to multiply such passages tenfold) is Zech. xiv., 
from which the text is taken. Perhaps no passage is 
more clear, full, and striking, than this, in reference to 
this subject, in the whole book of God ; and hence every 
effort has been made, by the opponents of the pre-millen- 
nial advent, to rebut this application of it, and to establish 
another. Let us quote a few verses at length. " Behold, 
the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be 
divided in the midst of thee. For I will gather all 
nations against Jerusalem to battle ; and the city shall 
be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished ; 
and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the 
residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. 
Then shall the Lord go forth and fight against those 
nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. And 
his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, 
.... and the Lord my God shall come, and all the 
saints with thee." 

Xow one interpretation of this passage is that which 
makes it all figurative. This, after what has been said, 
I need not here stop to notice. Another interpretation, 
however, applies it at once to the destruction of Jerusa- 
lem, and on this I shall be fairly expected to say a few 
words. 

First, then, such an interpretation admits, that the 
passage has been literally fulfilled ; and this is a con- 
siderable concession ; because it is clear, in that case, 
that there is nothing in the passage itself to make a 
figurative interpretation at all necessary : it is only 
extraneous considerations that must have led persons to 
such a mode of explaining it. 



TIME OF THE SECOND ADVENT. 



79 



Secondly, there is a confusion, after all, in this inter- 
pretation, of the literal and figurative ; for the destruc- 
tion of the city and the standing on mount Olivet are 
made literal ; but the coming of the Lord and the earth- 
quake are made figurative. And this becomes necessary, 
not from any indication in the passage of such a distinc- 
tion, but from the impossibility of finding a sufficient 
number of literal events to correspond with it : and, 

Thirdly, those which are admitted to be literal must 
be supposed inaccurate and out of order ; for our Lord's 
standing on Mount Olivet was long before, instead of 
after or at the destruction of Jerusalem ; and the history 
of that siege anything but verifies the circumstances 
stated in the second verse of this chapter. 

Take, now, the chapter in its simple grammatical 
meaning, and what is the epitome of its statement ? 
That the Jews in the end of their present tribulation 
being gathered to Jerusalem, shall undergo severe suffer- 
ing, and be reduced to great straits : — that at this time 
the Lord shall "go forth," "come," " stand with Ms 
feet," on Mount Olivet ; rescue his people, the Jews ; 
and destroy his and their enemies : — that he shall then 
be King over all the earth ; and, the Millennium suc- 
ceeding and not having preceded, Jerusalem shall be 
built again ; the Jews be restored in holiness and pros- 
perity, and all the Gentiles partake of their blessing and 
glory. 

We might easily add other passages to the above ; but 
let these suffice. Each one is only the repetition of the 
same unvarying testimony, " Christ will come personally 
before the Millennium." 

It scarcely seems to me necessary, and yet I will add 



80 



THE OLD TESTAMENT OX THE 



just two remarks in corroboration of the above argument 
from Scripture. 

First. Besides these and similar passages where 
Christ's personal coming is plainly stated, there are a 
very large number of other passages where it is implied, 
and which suppose him present on Mount Zion during 
the Millennium. These will be readily remarked in 
reading. We would only observe, that this is just what 
we should expect in the Word of God ; where the com- 
pleteness of a statement is often made designedly to 
depend on the comparing of different passages, and 
combining the truth of all. 

Secondly. While numberless passages all state clearly 
the pre-millennial personal advent of Jesus, there is not a 
single passage, which can be produced from the Old 
Testament, and it would be easy to show that this remark 
might be extended to the Xew, to prove that there is any 
advent of Christ after the Millennium. (Rev. xx. 11, is 
the only passage I am aware of, on which such an inter- 
pretation might be forced ; but even there not one 
syllable is said of our Lord's coming. Matt. xxv. 31, 
&c. s from its connexion I cannot admit to be at all 
capable of it.) 

II. Having, I trust, established, on those principles at 
least of interpretation which alone I can deem legitimate, 
that the second personal advent of our Lord is pre- 
millennial, it might be expected that I should say some- 
thing of the actual date when it is likely to take place. 
This, however, I am quite unable to do, not yet seeing 
my way clear to the conclusions on this subject which 
some valued brethren have arrived at. Still it may be 
well here to note its connexion with some other events, as 



TIME OF THE SECOND ADVENT. 



81 



stated in the Old Testament, to serve as a guide to those 
who may be anxious to trace its position in the course of 
future events. The following brief remarks may suffice 
for this purpose : — 

It will be at a time of general confusion, perplexity, 
fear, and trouble. (Isaiah xxiv.) 

The Jews, that is, a great portion of them, will be 
undergoing very severe persecution and oppression in 
their own land, and Jerusalem itself will be in a state of 
siege. (Zech. xiv. 1 — 3.) 

It will happen at the end of the fourth monarchy 
prophesied of by Daniel. (Chap, vii.) 

It will be subsequent to the appearing of the Prophet 
Elijah, who will be the forerunner of the second advent, 
as John the Baptist, who came only in his " spirit " 
and "power," was the forerunner of the first. (Malachi 
iv.) 

It will also be at the time when the saints are raised, 
which corresponds exactly with the New Testament. 
(Compare Isaiah xxv. 8, with 1 Cor. xv. 54.) 

It only remains, then, that I endeavour briefly to apply 
the whole subject by a few remarks. 

The view that we have put before you is clear and 
definite. The second coming of Christ, under this aspect, 
is not left in all those generalities of time and circum- 
stance, which from our very constitution leave us with so 
little practical impression. 

It may, like every other doctrine, be held in such a 
way as to be merely speculative and formal ; nay, it may 
be associated in some minds with expectations that are 
altogether carnal. It may be held as a theorem in 
science, or be the dream of a sensual spirit. But to 

Gr 



82 



THE OLD TESTAMENT ON TEE 



those who know Christ, it must — it will — be precious, 
for it is full of him from beginning to end ; and all that 
savours of Christ, and testifies of him, must be spiritual, 
powerful, and profitable to those who are taught by his 
Spirit. So far, indeed, from blinding the eyes of the 
Christian to the glory of God, it lays open, harmonizes, 
and crowns with the most transcendant majesty all the 
purposes of God. It is the hey to all God's past and 
present providential arrangements, because it clearly 
shows their ultimate design and bearing. In the first 
chapter of Genesis, you stand, as it were at the head of 
time, and look on creation in its beauty. But a cloud 
comes over it, before you have read through three chap- 
ters ; and all creation is marred, and sunk into the 
darkness of sin and death. Still, in that very third 
chapter, light shoots across the dismal abyss of misery, 
and one ray of hope from the Sun of Righteousness 
pierces the obscurity, " It shall bruise thy head." The 
conflict, of which the blessed issue is thus concisely 
described, goes on in trouble, sin, and suffering. The 
flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against 
the flesh ; and the world, and they that dwell in it, are 
oppressed by the Evil One. We come down at length to 
the end of four thousand years, and the Sun of Righte- 
ousness arises : but it is in clouds and darkness, Christ 
comes, but it is in humiliation ; he redeems, but it is by 
his blood. He is despised and rejected of men ; and the 
Lord lays on him the iniquity of us all. He leaves the 
grave and ascends up on high : but still the conflict goes 
on ; still this world remains the scene of sin, and misery, 
and death ; and notwithstanding the countless number 
that have been rescued through the great salvation, there 



TIME OF THE SECOND ADVENT. 



83 



are symptoms of unbelief waxing more dominant than 
ever, and of iniquity abounding to the full. But yet the 
time is fast running out ; and soon he that shall come, 
will come and will not tarry. And then, no longer will 
the darkness contend with the light, no longer will the 
struggle seem to be doubtful, or the throne of the 
universe to be in abeyance ; no longer will heavenly 
truth throw out its scattered and broken beams upon our 
sin-smitten earth ; but out of the midst of fearful convul- 
sion, and tremendous storm, with flame of devouring fire 
shall the Sun of Righteousness arise in mid-day splen- 
dour, with healing under his wings, and bless our creation 
to its remotest bound with his everlasting and unclouded 
light. 

And now then you see what will come of all the 
purposes of God. You see the first man, who was of the 
earth, earthy, superseded by the second man, who is the 
Lord from heaven : — you see the world that stood simply 
under the law of creation, brought to the higher standing 
of the law of redemption ;< — and you see the glory of 
redemption made more glorious still by the glory of a 
complete salvation. And how is all this to be ? Not, 
according to the common notion, by the destruction of 
the heavens and of the earth, but by their purification 
and renewal in righteousness and beauty. Then shall 
the morning stars again sing together, and the sons of 
God shout for joy ; for when he bringeth again his first- 
begotten into the world, he saith, " And let all the angels 
of God worship him." 

In conclusion, remember, the cause of all this is 
redemption through the blood of Jesus. Remember, the 
fitness for all this is that holiness without which no man 

o2 



84 THE OLD TESTAMENT ON THE SECOND ADVENT. 

shall see the Lord. Recollect, the means whereby you 
may attain all this, is that precious faith in a crucified 
Saviour which is the gift of God hy the Holy Ghost. 
Remember, the disposition of heart you are to maintain 
towards all this is, that hope which maketh not ashamed, 
which entereth in within the veil. And finally, recollect, 
that the condition in which you are to meet all this is, 
that of diligent watchfulness and holy consistency, as 
those who are keeping their garments lest then- shame 
appear in the day of Christ. The Lord present you with 
us faultless in that day before the presence of his glory, 
with exceeding joy. Amen. 



LECTURE V. 



THE DELAY OF THE SECOND ADVENT, ITS CAUSES 
AND PRACTICAL LESSONS. 



BY THE REV. W. DALTON, A.M., 

INCUMBENT OF ST. PAUL'S CHURCH, WOLVERHAMPTON. 



2 Pet. III. 9—11. 

" The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as 
some men count slackness ; but is long-suffering to 
us-ward, not ivilling that any should perish, but 
that all should come to repentance. But the day 
of the Lord will come as a thief in the night ; in 
the tohich the heavens shall pass away with a great 
noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, 
the earth also and the works that are therein shall 
be burned up. Seeing then that all these things 
shall be dissolved, tchat manner of persons ought ye 
to be in all holy conversation and godliness." 

It has been often observed that there exists a very strong 
analogy between the Word and works of God. The 
more we study the book of creation, and compare it with 
the book of revelation, the more readily shall we draw 



86 



DELAY OF THE SECOND ADVENT. 



the conclusion, that the same hand which formed the 
heavens and the earth, with all their varied contents, 
wrote for our guidance, the Word of Life, in characters 
not to be effaced. 

We may easily perceive the truth of this position in 
the subject which has been allotted to me in the present 
course ; which may be thus put in the form of a question, 
" Why should the Second Advent of our Lord be so long- 
delayed, and what practical lessons does such a delay 
afford?' ' An inquiry which we should enter upon, not 
in the spirit of dictating times and seasons to God, but 
rather in the child-like spirit which desires to know what 
the Lord hath declared on such a question. 

It is impossible not to remark that God has chosen to 
proceed slowly in some of his greatest works. This 
earth, with all its furniture, and all its inhabitants, might 
have sprung into existence at the Almighty fiat — it might 
have stood forth in all its completeness at the first 
utterance of Jehovah's voice : but this was not the plan 
of the great Architect. He willed that six days should 
be given up to the creation of this lower world : wherein 
each portion was evolved in a quiet and excellent har- 
mony. So, likewise, if we examine the separate parts of 
the animal and vegetable world, we shall find that the 
stateliest trees of the forest and the noblest species of 
the brute creation, are all slow in reaching their standard 
of perfection. All this prepares us to expect to find the 
same procedure of the Almighty One in the discovery of 
his will to a fallen world — an expectation which is 
abundantly met in every part of Revelation. 

When man by transgression fell from that high and 
holy estate in which he was created, mercy interposed to 



ITS CAUSES AND PRACTICAL LESSONS. 87 



stay the stroke of justice ; and even proclaimed a 
gracious Mediator who was to bruise the arch-enemy's 
head, even though he was to endure many wounds in 
effecting the victory. Now, seeing that this promise was 
the germ of all God's revelation to guilty man ; that it 
contained so much of mercy to a fallen world ; that it 
held out the prospect of such a victory over Satanic 
malice, we might have thought that its accomplishment 
would not he long delayed. And when we perceive, that 
instead of the sudden appearance of the " seed of the 
woman,"* an apparatus of minute ritual services inter- 
poses — a series of prophecies are distinctly given, in 
which the dawn of light is very gradually disclosed — we 
might, I say, he tempted to ask, Why all this delay — 
this continued postponement ? — if indeed the promise held 
within its contents, all that tended to display the glory of 
Jehovah, and to dispel the terrible gloom which sin had 
cast over this lower world. 

To these inquiries, we do not find that God has given 
any specific answer. All that he condescends to say to 
us is, that " When the fulness of the time was come, 
God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made 
under the law, to redeem them that were under the 
law, that we might receive the adoption of sons ; " f 
leaving it for us to draw some general conclusions on the 
subject. We might suppose that the Lord intended to 
exhibit the utter worthlessness of all human systems, 
which had had full time for remedying the catastrophe of 
the fall, but without the slightest success ; or we might 
conjecture that he intended to beget an earnest desire for 
the glorious Shiloh in the minds of men, by practically 
* Gen. iii. 15. f Gal. iv. 4, 5. 



88 DELAY OF THE SECOND ADVENT, 

exhibiting the misery of this world, without Divine inter- 
ference. Still no explanation is given, and we are called 
to repose in that supporting and wholesome truth ; it is 
not for us "to know the times or the seasons, which the 
Father hath put in his own power." 

This view of the Redeemer's first advent, and the long 
lapse of time which interposed between the first promise 
and its accomplishment, is of immense value in meditat- 
ing on the delay which has occurred in the glorious 
appearance of the King of kings. It tends to prove that 
this hope may be big with events of the highest moment ; 
that all others may be subordinate to this climax of 
Divine manifestation ; and that we may have the most 
intense personal interest in this coming of the day of 
God ; and yet that Infinite Wisdom has purposes of 
delay, in which, though we cannot fathom, we can readily 
acquiesce. 

Is it possible, my brethren, that any one can read 
their Bible with holy attention and without prejudice, and 
not perceive that God has given a most special promi- 
nence to the advent of Messiah in glory, and to the 
setting up his kingdom of righteousness on the ruins of 
the degraded kingdoms of men ? We might conclude 
that the very hope of meeting in our glorified nature 
the great Head of the Church, would be sufficient 
to animate the members of the mystical body in their 
walk through this thorny desert ; and, doubtless, in this 
point of view, both the Lord and his apostles comforted 
the afflicted Church in days that are past. " I will see 
you again, and your heart shall rejoice ; and your joy no 
man taketh from you." " Be patient, therefore, brethren, 
unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman 



ITS CAUSES AND PRACTICAL LESSONS. 89 



waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long 
patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. 
Be ye also patient ; stablish your hearts : for the coming 
of the Lord draweth nigh." * And no marvel, for Christ 
is the beloved object of all who live by faith and not by 
sense ; they even now behold the glory of the Lord 
shining in the face of Jesus Christ by a spiritual vision, 
to which the children of this world are strangers. They 
can see an excellency in the knowledge of their Saviour, 
to which no earthly acquirement can be compared. We 
are not, therefore, to be surprised that the prospect of 
seeing their Lord face to face ; of beholding the Divine 
Majesty in the tempered mildness of the humanity ; of 
being personally present with the once crucified but now 
exalted Lamb of God ; should rivet their hope to a 
definite and expected event. If we could see no other 
reason for this looking and waiting for Christ, than the 
single idea, that in his presence is fulness of joy, it would 
be enough. We might still feel that as he has promised 
to return again in visible glory, so it is our joyful position 
to stand waiting for the Lord, our Master, and heavenly 
Bridegroom. 

This, however, is far from being the case : besides 
setting forth the blessedness of waiting for the Lord, the 
Scriptures are express in showing, that great and im- 
portant interests are tied to the second advent in such 
close alliance, that you cannot receive the one, without 
being more or less led to the consideration of the rest. I 
know that good and holy men have held otherwise, and 
have taught, that it would be better to pause at the 
threshold of prophetic inquiry and to be satisfied with the 
* James v. 7, 8. 



90 



DELAY OF THE SECOND ADVENT, 



contemplation of the apocalypse of the Son of man. 
Now, whilst I admit that this is the main hope of the 
Church, — the common subject of our confession,' — the 
important vantage-ground for looking onwards, — I cannot 
sever this radiant spot in the hemisphere of light from 
the many bright constellations that surround it. For 
example, we must not forget that the Lord Christ is 
promised a kingdom upon earth, the reward of his 
victorious sufferings, and the effect of his prevailing inter- 
cession. " Thus saith the Lord, In an acceptable time 
have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I 
helped thee : and I will preserve thee, and give thee for 
a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause 
to inherit the desolate heritages ; ' ' * — a time when Zion 
shall no longer complain, " The Lord hath forsaken me," 
but shall be restored to her own land in such numbers 
and strength, that she shall exclaim, " The place is too 
strait for me : give place that I may dwell ; " t — a time 
also, when the ends of the earth shall turn unto the Lord 
and live, seeing that the Father hath said to his well- 
beloved Son, " Ask of me, and I shall give thee the 
heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of 
the earth for thy possession." J Will any one contend, 
that this kingdom of righteousness has yet been set up, 
except in some general principles of truth and holiness 
revealed in the word, and followed out by the few ? Will 
any one assert, that Israel has been restored to God's 
favour, and the land of their heritage, or that the heathen 
now acknowledge the only true God and Jesus Christ 
whom he has sent ? Assuredly they cannot maintain the 
affirmative ; neither can they give the least warranty 
* Isaiah xlix. 8. f Isaiah xlix. 20. J Psalm ii. 8. 



ITS CAUSES AND PRACTICAL LESSONS. 



91 



from Holy Writ (as appears to me), that Messiah's king- 
dom, in its prevailing and triumphant form, shall he ever 
set up, until he comes a second time in the clouds of 
heaven, attended hy ten thousand times ten thousand of 
saints, with whom he will reign over a righteous and 
peaceful world.* 

We might proceed, in like manner, to show, that the 
Church of the living God cannot expect to reach its 
ultimate perfection until the day-star arises on this world 
in the morning of the resurrection. We fully assent to 
the foundation-truth of the Gospel, that we are accepted 
only in the Beloved, and that we can he presented to the 
Father without spot, or blame, or any such thing, only in 
the spotless robe of the Redeemer's imputed righteous- 
ness. We also hold with the Church in all ages, that 
the soul which has been quickened and sanctified by the 
Spirit's presence, is delivered from all the soil of sin and 
remaining corruption at the stroke of death, and is 
numbered among "the spirits of just men made per- 
fect : " but then, we ask, is the Church, as a body, 
invested with all its robes of glory, and brought into the 
family inheritance, which shall, indeed, be enjoyed per- 
sonally, but must be shared with all the members of the 
household of faith ? I am persuaded, that nothing can 
be more opposed to the spirit of the Bible than a cold 
isolation in religion. Whilst we retain our individual 
position, and feel our individual responsibility, we are 
never to forget, that all our privileges are best enjoyed, 
and all our duties best performed, when we regard 
ourselves as the citizens of the Divine commonwealth and 
the members of the household of God. And if this view 
* See Dan. vii. 13, 14. 



92 



DELAY OF THE SECOND ADVENT, 



be essential to our present stability and usefulness, mucb 
more must it enter into tbe prospects of tbe coming glory. 
This furnishes us with a satisfactory reply to the question, 
Why do the Scriptures dwell so emphatically on the 
resurrection period, and yet give such scanty hints on the 
state of the disembodied spirit ? The answer might be, 
because the resurrection places the whole man before us 
in all his completeness ; for though the body is the 
inferior part — the casket of the immortal and imperish- 
able jewel — yet God has constituted man in such wise, 
that we cannot use the treasure nor even admire its 
beauty, in its separated condition, with anything like the 
advantage that belongs to it in its compacted form ; but 
we may rather reply, that the Church of God has been 
given a decided, living, united form, and we cannot under- 
stand the Lord's dealings to it in time, nor contemplate 
its glory in the kingdom, if we ever lose sight of its 
corporate capacity. When Christ, the Head, is revealed 
in his glory, then shall his members appear with him, — 
all reflecting the image <vud glory of their Lord, — all 
united together in lovely symmetry,' — all filling up the 
precise place and station which the prescient eye of God 
had marked out from all eternity. 

But why, it may be inquired, do I thus dwell on some 
of the features of the coming kingdom ? — My subject, I 
reply, demands such a glance at the joy that is set before 
us at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. We thus 
learn to answer the question which has been allotted to 
me in a negative form ; — the advent of our Lord is not 
delayed because it is a matter of inferior importance : on 
the contrary, it holds a conspicuous and prominent 
position in the map of revelation ; and though it may be 



ITS CAUSES AND PRACTICAL LESSONS. 93 



thrown designedly into the more distant prospect, jet, 
like the. mountains that skirt the horizon, it has the first 
and brightest sunshine beaming upon its exalted head, 
and sends forth rills of comfort to refresh those who are 
toiling in the plain below in their efforts to reach the 
heights of glory. 

There is another negative reply to the question, why 
the Omniscient has so long delayed the second advent of 
Messiah. It is not because the expectation of seeing 
such a day belongs to one generation of the Church, to 
the exclusion of the rest. I am not aware that any 
Churchman would professedly teach, that we are not 
personally to wait for the return of the Son of man, or 
openly deny, that we are to look for his manifestation in 
the clouds of heaven ; but I do hold, that practically 
speaking, this view has been held and propounded by 
many whom we love as fellow-labourers in the ministry of 
our Lord. 

If we compare the language of modern teachers with 
the declarations of the word, and especially with the 
apostolic epistles, we shall be struck with the contrast. 
In the one case, men are reminded of their short stay 
upon earth, — they are called to dwell on the subject of 
death, as if it were the great subject of contemplation ; 
they are urged to prepare for the hour of dissolution, as 
if there were no prospect more affecting, none more 
calculated to win the thoughts and desires to heavenly 
things. Not so the Scripture of truth ; — there we find 
death is held out in all its solemn aspect. It is described 
as an enemy, whose strength we must prepare to conquer 
by the grace of God — a monster, whose sting can only 
be made harmless by the cross of Emmanuel. But it is 



94 



DELAY OF THE SECOND ADVENT, 



not, it cannot be the object of hope,' — of holy and longing 
expectation. None can occupy this place in the eye of 
hope, but the adorable Saviour who once appeared 
amongst us in suffering flesh, and will yet return to this 
world in our glorified humanity. How interesting in this 
view is the described position of the Church, 4 'looking 
for, and hasting unto the coming of the day of God ; " 
they are the people who wait for the Son from heaven ; 
they are the wise virgins, who have long ago trimmed 
their lamps, and whom the first note of approach shall 
wake up, and behold they shall go forth to meet the 
bridegroom ; they are the servants who are steadily 
occupied in their allotted duties during the absence of the 
great Master, but wait with intense desire for the time 
when his friendly voice shall demand admittance, and his 
welcome feet once more stand on the sphere of our sorrows 
and pilgrimage. 

And if we inquire still further, why such a contrast 
should exist between the teaching of the early Church 
and that of the modern Church, I can only attempt a 
solution by referring to the difference of views on the 
kingdom of righteousness, which is yet to prevail in this 
world. The modern Church has too often resorted to an 
allegorical mode of interpreting the Scriptures, where a 
literal one might better serve. Jerusalem is made the 
Christian Church ; the Jews, the members of the same. 
The restoration of this people to God's favour and their 
own land is all melted down to a greater extension of the 
Christian religion ; and the millennial state of peace and 
righteousness, is the removal of present evils and the 
carrying out of holy principles among the nations of the 
earth. All this is to be gradually effected by the Divine 



ITS CAUSES AND PRACTICAL LESSONS. 



95 



blessing on the means of grace we now have, and all to 
take place before the coming of the great and terrible 
day of the Lord. With such views, the obvious answer 
to our inquiry would be, " That we believe that God 
intends gradually to convert mankind, and to make this 
world a scene of righteousness and peace ; and that the 
Lord delays his return until all this revolution takes 
place, and until the Jew, the Heathen, and the Mahome- 
dan, are won over to the faith of Christ." 

These views are widely different from those held by 
the Primitive Church, who took our text and similar 
passages in their literal bearing, and therefore expected a 
new heaven and a new earth, wherein righteousness should 
dwell. They did not make earth anything but earth ; 
nor did they expect annihilation, but purification, by the 
terms of our text, where the elements are destined for a 
melting by fervent heat, and the earth and its works 
await the fire that shall consume all that belongs to sin 
and Satan. They expected the literal restoration of the 
ancient people of God and the rebuilding of Jerusalem, 
the conversion of the Heathen, and the universal spread 
of light and peace ; but all this, not before the day of 
the Lord, but cotemporaneously with it ; in a word, they 
expected no universal kingdom of righteousness and 
peace, until the Lord shall come — until the King arrives 
to dethrone the great usurper, Satan, and to take pos- 
session of his own rightful dominions.* With such hopes 
as these, you can well imagine how men might " look for 
and hasten unto the coming of the day of God ; ' ' 

* See all these views, as belonging to the early Church, 
clearly set forth in Greswell's admirable work on the Parables, 
vol. i. 



96 



DELAY OF. THE SECOND ADVENT, 



because, as far as they knew, the Lord might come in 
their own day and generation. But with the former, I 
do not understand how the position of personal waiting 
for Christ agrees. They who maintain that a millennium 
of blessedness will precede the advent, may look for such 
a period, as they may live daily in the expectation of 
death, but they are not actually and personally watching 
for the Lord's coming, as an event that might come to 
pass in their own time. They do not reject the doctrine 
of his second coming, but they place it at a vast distance, 
as the winding up of all things, and not as bearing on 
their present feelings and actual position. 

I have dwelt on these things the more fully, because 
they appear to have an important bearing on my text ; 
they may tend to show in what way the apostle answers 
the caviller ; who, in the apparent delay of the Lord's 
final purposes exclaims, ' ' Where is the promise of his 
coming ? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things 
continue as they were from the beginning of the 
creation." (Ver. 4.) Now how does the apostle meet 
this cavil ? By vindicating the faithfulness of God, we 
may reply, and thus announcing the blessed truth, that 
if the Lord does not at once fulfil all he has promised, it 
is from no slackness of promise, no unwillingness of doing 
as he has said, no drawing back from bestowing a 
measure fully equal to his own declarations. All this he 
affirms, and then goes on to give the true reason of this 
delay — a reason which it may be profitable for us to 
dwell briefly upon, as furnishing us with views of God's 
exceeding rich mercy to the fallen children of Adam. 

The reason then given in my text for this delay of the 
Lord's return, is thus clearly expressed, " He is not 



ITS CAUSES AND PEACTICAL LESSONS. 97 

willing that any should perish, hut that all should come 
to repentance." A declaration full of mercy to a guilty 
world, as it is eminently calculated to set before our eyes 
the character of our God. And yet even here controversy 
must interfere and raise its clamorous voice ; instead of 
allowing us to stand and admire the depths and height of 
Divine condescension, we are called to debate, who are 
intended by " us-ward ; " whether it includes all men, 
or only the elect ; whether we must limit it to the family 
of God, or extend it to the whole race of man. On such 
a question, I have no wish here to enter ; it would lead 
us far away from the practical part of our meditation. 1 
would, therefore, dismiss it with this one remark, that it 
seems to be the expression of God's tender mercy to a 
fallen world, to hold forth the comforting thought, that 
before the day of vengeance bursts upon the rebellious 
and obdurate, there is a period of long-suffering when 
God is willing to receive to his bosom of mercy the 
returning and penitent prodigal. Beyond this, there 
seems to be no data in the text for going into the 
question of limitation or universality. The period of our 
Master's absence is marked by the exceeding patience of 
God — he is waiting to be gracious< — he now invites 
sinners to return unto him and to be saved. 

But how does this one thought, my brethren, open 
before us the whole of that provision, which the love of 
God has made for the corrupt and guilty sons of Adam, 
and the great purposes which Divine wisdom had in view 
in such a provision ? On these things we can only touch 
at present; they form the subject of our pastoral in- 
struction, and of your constant lessons, and we trust that 
you will never cease to pray for all the ministers of 

H 



98 



DELAY OF THE SECOND ADVEXT, 



Christ, that they will set forth the riches of redeeming 
love, without gainsaying, without reserve, without abridge- 
ment. 

It would have preserved men from much confusion, if 
they had kept in mind that each dispensation has its 
precise character and distinct purpose, though all united 
in setting forth the same great truth of God's long- 
suffering and mercy. In what may he termed the Abra- 
hamic dispensation, we have the first palpable exposition 
of the promise made by God concerning the seed of the 
woman — the bruiser of Satan's head. Whilst God made 
arrangements for the preservation of his truth in selecting 
one nation to be his peculiar people, he at' the same time 
renewed the promise of a Saviour, in whom all the 
families of the earth were to be blessed. 'Nov was the 
legal dispensation introduced to make the slightest change 
in these glorious promises, it was rather " added because 
of transgressions," to exhibit all the deformity of that 
evil, which the Saviour would in due time remedy, and to 
restrain iniquity in its fearful and more outrageous cha- 
racter. The law, in this sense, both moral and ceremo- 
nial, was a large parenthesis in the book of God's mercy, 
which tended to delay men's arrival at the full period of 
light, but which like a well-chosen parenthesis, served to 
elucidate the great subject kept in view. It made men 
see the necessity of a Saviour's work and interference, 
whilst in its minute and diversified ritual it pointed 
onward to the real blood of sprinkling and the oil of 
consolation. 

The dispensation of the Spirit, or, as it is sometimes 
termed, the Gospel-kingdom, has dawned upon this world 
with still clearer light and far higher privileges, than any 



ITS CAUSES AND PRACTICAL LESSONS. 99 

which had hitherto been disclosed to the sons of men. 
The Saviour, in our nature, has been fully revealed ; the 
work of redemption, effected by his vicarious sufferings ; 
the gift of the Spirit, poured out from the mercy- seat ; 
the New Testament Church, set up in all the extensive- 
ness of provision ; the catholicity of its doctrine and dis- 
cipline ; the simplicity of its ordinances. And yet, be it 
remarked, the unity of purpose which had pervaded the 
former dispensation, was not abandoned in this ; it was 
still to be the period of God's long-suffering to sinners, 
to the end that those who believed in his love, and 
repented of their sins, might live. There was still to be 
a delay of the Messiah's glorious advent, that love — free, 
unmerited love — might beam forth in all its peculiar 
lustre ; that the whole of God's creation might have the 
most undoubted proof that he is love itself, when he 
manifested himself in the Lord Christ, and entreated 
sinners to be reconciled to him through their all-perfect 
Surety. 

There is not, my brethren, we firmly believe, a single 
hint in the Divine Scriptures, that these gracious offers 
would be universally accepted by men, during the Sa- 
viour's absence. We are rather prepared, by the con- 
sentaneous testimony of Christ and his apostles, to expect 
that the few would be benefited by the word of recon- 
ciliation, whilst the multitude would remain in carnal 
indifference, formality, or ungodliness. The time of 
long-suffering on Jehovah's part would not indeed be 
thrown away ; his purposes of mercy would be still carried 
out in the little flock, even though the majority of the 
world would despise the riches of his forbearance. We 
have the express assurance of God that his word should 

H 2 



100 



DELAY OF THE SECOND ADVENT, 



not return to him void, and the promise of the Saviour, 
that if he were lifted up from the earth, he would draw 
all men — that is r men of all nations, rank, and condition 
— to his fellowship and service. But we have no promise 
that conflict should cease during the dispensation of the 
Spirit, that the world would cease to hate the Church, 
that the way to salvation should he trodden hy the multi- 
tude, and the gate of paradise lose its straitened aspect 
in the eyes of the majority ; or, in a word, we have no 
expectation held out to us that the dispensation of the 
Spirit would slide into the dispensation of the kingdom, 
or that the latter was nothing more than the expansion of 
the former. All is clear and distinct in their own peculiar 
characteristics and sequence ; the legal economy is not 
the same as the Ahrahamic ; the dispensation of the 
Spirit claims for itself a special position and honour, and 
is not to he confounded with any that has preceded. 
Whilst the climax of all, the recapitulation of all, will he 
found in the setting up the kingdom of Messiah, when as 
a Priest he shall sit upon his throne, and as the Son of 
David he shall reign over his restored nation, and over a 

O 9 

converted world. 

I cannot help testifying that the question, How far 
we are to expect that God's long-suffering during the 
Messiah's absence will affect men, is deeply practical, 
and hears upon all the prophetic anticipations which God 
has given us in the word. If the notion held hy a great 
number of sincere and devout Christians be true, that 
this world is to be evangelized by the efforts of the 
Church militant — accompanied by the dew of the Spirit — 
we must then expect that a gradual improvement will 
take place, and the time of God's long-suffering, instead 



ITS CAUSES AND PRACTICAL LESSONS. 101 

of availing only to the gathering together of a Church 
out of the mass, will be efficacious to transform the 
kingdoms of this world into the kingdom of our God 
and his Christ. But if the Scriptures prepare us for the 
conflict of light and darkness to the end of this dispensa- 
tion ; if the little flock shall never cease to travel on 
through a toilsome way and bitter foes until the great 
Shepherd appear ; if the latter days shall be marked by 
still greater confederacies of sinners and rebels against 
the Most High God ; — and if the crushing judgments 
of God are to fall on the kingdoms of men, to make 
way for the dominion of the true and lawful King ; then 
I would say, the trumpet gives an uncertain sound that 
does not call the Church of God to stand on its watch- 
tower, and never to lay aside any portion of the heavenly 
armour, until the voice of the Son of God shall proclaim, 
" The great dragon is cast out, that old serpent, called 
the devil and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world ; " 
and the voice in heaven shall respond, 6 ' Now is come 
salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, 
and the power of his Christ ; for the accuser of his 
brethren is cast down, which accused them before our 
God day and night."* In a word, we hold, that the 
true cause of the delay of Christ's second advent is, 
that in a time of such patience and long- suffering on the 
part of God, pardon should be proclaimed to the guilty, 
" liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to 
them that are bound ; " for the great purpose of gather- 
ing out the Church of the living God ; and that we are 
as clearly forbidden to extend this further, or suppose 
that all would acknowledge Christ as their Lord, during 
* Rev. xiv. 9, 10. 



102 



DELAY OF THE SECOND ADVENT, 



his abiding within the veil, and thus confound, in a misty 
and undefined exposition, the dispensation of the Spirit 
with the future kingdom of Christ and his glorified 
saints. 

And now, my brethren, I have to refer to some of 
those practical lessons which the delay of the Lord's 
advent seems calculated to impress on his professed 
followers. I am not called to dilate on the practical 
tendency of the doctrine itself, that Christ Jesus, the 
Son of God and the Son of David, is to return to this 
world in power and great glory. This is a theme too 
extensive for any one discourse, and will be best felt by 
pervading, as I am convinced it will, all the expositions 
given at this time concerning the Messiah's kingdom and 
the prospects of the Church. I am merely to show, that 
the delay of that blessed hour, which shall be the con- 
summation of all our hopes, is fraught with lessons of 
deep meaning to all who are really waiting for the Lord 
from heaven ; and herein I shall only attempt to give a 
few brief hints. 

First. During the Master's absence we are called to 
be Ms witnesses to a godless world. It has ever been 
the character of that world, to follow after the things of 
sense, and to despise or neglect the realities of faith. 
They know nothing, indeed, of communion with the 
invisible world ; all their hopes and feelings are tied 
down to time and its passing concerns ; and hence it is, 
that the promised glory of the advent has no reality in 
their view ; for they judge of things that are yet to come 
by things that are now. ' ' All things continue as they 
were from the beginning of the creation ; " and, there- 
fore, they argue, that all things may roll on in the same 



ITS CAUSES AND PllACTICAL LESSONS. 



103 



uniformity from age to age ; they have no visible proof 
of such , revolutions as the second advent of the Lord is 
expected to effect. I stop not to notice the apostle's 
refutation of such cavils, by a reference to the terrible 
deluge which overflowed the world and its inhabitants in 
one destructive catastrophe ; it is enough for us to learn 
from such a cavil, that the unsanetified children of men 
are guided merely by the testimony of their senses, to 
the exclusion of the higher testimony of God's revela- 
tion : and yet even to them, the Lord of hosts has not 
left himself without witnesses. If they will not take his 
naked word, they shall have before them some living 
epistles, wherein the handwriting of God shall be seen 
in clear and legible characters. 

How striking, in this point of view, is St. Paul's 
address to the Philippian Christians, — " Do all things 
without xnurmurings and disputings : that ye may be 
blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, 
in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among 
whom ye shine as lights in the world ; "* as if he would 
say, " Ye are appointed to be God's witnesses to a dark 
and unspiritual generation, who dwell in the clouds of 
sin and ignorance : they shut their eyes, indeed, to that 
glorious light which is above them ; but if you reflect the 
rays of the Sun of Righteousness, they will be forced to 
remember that there is a God to know and an eternal 
kingdom to seek." This sort of testimony comes across 
them continually ; for it is met with in the holy deport- 
ment and decided walk of those who would honour Christ 
with more than lip-service. The careless and worldly 
can scarcely get rid of this admonition ; they see it 
* Phil. ii. 14, 15. 



104 DELAY OF THE SECOND ADVENT, 



before them in clear and well-marked colours ; they feel, 
that with the consistent Christian, religion is a reality, 
and they cannot help reflecting, if his tastes and pursuits 
be heaven- wards, theirs must have a tendency to the pit 
of corruption. 

Oh ! brethren, beloved in the Lord, ye that desire to 
follow the despised Saviour in his humiliation, remember 
that you are called to be his witnesses in the period of 
his absence. " Ye are the lights of the world ; ye are 
the salt of the earth." Your gracious Master must be 
honoured or dishonoured, according to the mode in which 
you occupy your post. Be not weary in well-doing ; 
never cease to watch. Walk in wisdom towards them 
who are without ; and let it be your earnest prayer, that 
you may reflect the Saviour's image in all your way 
through life, that men may observe and feel it, and, in 
some cases at least be led to glorify your Father which is 
in heaven. 

Secondly. " In your patience possess ye your souls," 
is another lesson which Christ would have his mourning 
Church well and deeply learn during his abode within the 
veil. It is, emphatically, the time of the Church's warfare 
and tribulation. The Lord has prepared us for weeping, 
whilst the ungodly are permitted to have a short and hollow 
triumph. " Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall 
weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice : and ye 
shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into 
joy."* And the Psalmist prepares us for the triumph 
of the wicked, by saying, " I have seen the wicked in 
great power, and spreading himself as a green bay-tree." 
And so throughout the Scriptures, we are told, that the 
* John xvi. 20. 



ITS CAUSES AND PRACTICAL LESSONS. 



105 



uttgodly exalt themselves on every side, with high looks 
and proud thoughts, whilst the little flock of Christ are 
disregarded and cast out. Nor can they complain ; for 
their heloved Master has walked in the same path before 
them, enduring for their sakes the contradiction of sinners 
against himself, and receiving; on himself all the violence 
of the storm, whilst he hung on the accursed tree. Pie 
could well say, " If they have persecuted me, they will 
persecute you. Ye shall he hated of all men for my 
name's sake." 

If, then, it has been necessary to remind the Church 
in all ages of the apostolic warning, 6 6 Ye have need of 
patience," it will be much more, I apprehend, as we 
hasten on to the last great crisis. The fourteenth chapter 
of the Apocalypse appears to me a portion of unfulfilled 
prophecy, and to refer to the last tribulation described by 
our Lord and the Prophet Daniel.* The Antichristian 
beast will call the professed followers of the Lamb to the 
alternative of yielding to his confederacy or of exposing 
themselves to the most bitter sufferings ; but this faithful 
band shall hear the voice of the angel, which proclaims, 
" If any man worship the beast and his image, and 
receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same 
shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is 
poured out without mixture into the cup of his indigna- 
tion : " and knowing that this is the warning of the 
faithful Amen, they shall be ready to endure any sorrow, 
even death itself, rather than deny their Lord and dis- 
honour his name. Hence the exclamation of the apostle : 
" Here is the patience of the saints : here are they that 
keep the commandments of God, and the faith of 
* Matt. xxiv. 21, 22. Dan. xii. 1, 2. 



106 DELAY OF THE SECOND ADVENT, 

Jesus."* We may, my brethren, live to see tlnfte 
days, — we may be called to see the horrible raging of 
Satan in the last of the last days ; but if not, we have 
still need of patience. All these evil principles are at 
work even in our favoured land, though as yet they cannot 
tell with overwhelming power, because they await con- 
centration under some visible head ; but they do work 
and strive with no common energy. Everything about 
us seems defiled and out of joint ; there is a heaving of 
the sea of discord, which is felt to agitate and disquiet, — 
a sort of prelude of that fearful storm which will burst 
on the Church just previous to its eternal calm. We 
have now to meet with sorrows and bereavements in this 
world of separation ; we have now to weep and lament 
over the uprisings of the evil principle which we have 
inherited from Adam, and which struggles so hard against 
the heavenly nature implanted by Christ ; — all this we 
have now to meet, and therefore we have need of patience. 
Your Lord would have you learn this lesson daily, whilst 
yet he tarries in the heavenly sanctuary, and has not set 
out to take possession of his millennial kingdom. — But 
then he gives you the sweet assurance, that the delay is 
short, and that very soon we shall behold him in his robes 
of majesty, attended by myriads of holy angels and 
glorified saints, proclaiming with a voice of supremacy, 
that shall be heard to the utmost bounds of creation, 
" Behold, I make all things new." 

Thirdly, and lastly. This is the time for the Church 
to aim at winning souls to God. When the Archangel's 
trumpet shall be heard, the period of sowing and planting 
shall come to an end. I do not mean that the glorified 
* Rev. xiv. 12. 



ITS CAUSES AND PRACTICAL LESSONS. 107 



saints shall be unoccupied in dealing out the bounties of 
Jehovah, to his dependent creatures : far otherwise ; ours 
shall be an eternity of holy activity as well as heartfelt 
praise ; but then it will not be that peculiar work which 
Christ has delegated to his Church during the dispensa- 
tion of the Spirit. He has appointed a ministry of poor, 
weak, and sinful men, to proclaim the word of reconcilia- 
tion, and to call sinners to repentance ; to feed the house- 
hold of faith, and train up the children of God for the 
manhood of glory ; and under their direction and pas- 
toral superintendence, every member of Christ has some- 
thing to do in promoting the salvation of souls. For as 
the Bible knows nothing of priestly domination, or of 
absorbing our idea of the Church into one class of men, — 
viz., the appointed pastors, — so neither does it counte- 
nance those erratic labours that seek to let the river of 
mercy refresh the weary traveller, without reference to 
its appointed channel. As we are convinced that the 
Church of God ought never to rest in mere form and 
shadow, or dream away its time in discussing ceremonial 
observances, so we feel assured that all the efforts for 
evangelizing or educating the masses of our population, 
without the sacred influence of the Church's system, is 
nothing more than a laborious waste of time. 

Oh ! Sirs, it is the time for calling sinners to repent- 
ance, — of snatching, instrumentally, precious, immortal 
souls, from Satan's embrace, and placing them in the 
refuge opened for them in the wounded side of Immanuel ! 
Have you tasted the efficacy of redeeming love ? — have 
you found a resting-place in the sure promises of the 
word ? — then, I beseech you, be occupied in the work of 
the Lord, shake off all sloth and unscriptural timidity, 



108 DELAY OF THE SECOND ADVENT, &C. 

and give your best energies to the noble employment of 
advancing the interests of never-dying souls ! Or are 
there any here who still halt between two opinions ? who 
confess that Christ's service is the best, yet are in 
the thraldom of the world's vanities and pursuits ? Oh, 
east off this dangerous indecision ! The door of mercy 
is still open, but it must be entered ; the hands of the 
high priest are still lifted up before the mercy- seat, but 
you must place a sincere, believing petition in them ere 
the day of vengeance arrives. Delay not a day, not 
an hour. Arise, your Saviour calleth you ! — but he does 
it with that deep and solemn emphasis, "Behold, I come 
quickly. " 



LECTURE VI. 



THE SIGNS OF THE SECOND ADVENT IN THE 
STATE OF THE WORLD AT LARGE. 



BY THE RET. J. W. BROOKS, M.A., 

RECTOR OF EAST RETFORD. 



Luke XXL 25—28. 

" And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, 
and in the stars ; and upon the earth distress of 
nations, with perplexity ; the sea and the waves 
roaring ; mens hearts failing them for fear, and 
for looking after those things which are coming on 
the earth : for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. 
And then shall they see the Son of Man coming in 
a cloud with power and great glory. And when 
these things begin to come to pass, then look up, 
and lift up your heads ; for your redemption 
draweth nigh." 

I feel awed, brethren, by the solemnity, and embarrassed 
by the magnitude of the subject, which I have been 
specially requested to bring before you,- — Viz., " The 
Signs of the Second Advent in the state of the world at 



110 



SIGNS OF THE SECOND ADVENT 



large." They are on the one hand such as to impress 
my own mind with a deep persuasion, that we are on the 
eve of events of immense — immense importance to man- 
kind : they will, on the other hand, require me to enter 
so much into detail, that I could not venture to trespass 
to such an extent upon your patience, were I not 
encouraged hy the assurance, that the subject must 
excite a more than ordinary interest in those who truly 
believe the Word of God. 

I am admonished, however, by the greatness of the 
task, that I must not occupy time by remarks which are 
not absolutely necessary ; and will therefore content 
myself with earnestly beseeching you to lift up your hearts 
in silent prayer to God, that his Word may now be 
accompanied by the demonstration of his Holy Spirit, 
and be mixed with faith in us all. 

The signs to which I have to draw your attention may 
be classed into political, natural, and religious. 

Those which are comprehended in the text first demand 
attention, and may appear to some to belong to the class 
of natural phenomena ; but they are nevertheless, in 
reality, political signs, as I hope presently to convince 
you. Before however I enter upon the description of 
them here given, it is necessary that I make a few re- 
marks, explanatory of the subject which is before us in 
general, in order that it may be clearly understood. 

The signs, then, of which I am about to treat, are 
styled in our Prospectus, and justly so, ' ' the Signs of 
the Lord's Advent ; " — which advent, agreeably with 
what is intimated in the text, is for the redemption of his 
people ; — of his people Israel, to whom the words of the 
text were specially addressed ; and who were to have the 



IN THE STATE OF THE WORLD AT LARGE. Ill 



Gospel of redemption in every case first preached to 
them ; — : and of those likewise, who, though not his people 
by natural descent from Abraham, are nevertheless, by 
the unspeakable grace vouchsafed to them of like faith 
with Abraham, accounted to be his seed, and heirs ac- 
cording to the promise.* 

It must be borne in mind, however, that before Israel 
shall be redeemed as a nation, there is to come what the 
Prophet Jeremiah calls " the time of Jacob's trouble ; "f 
—-that previous to the marriage- supper of the Lamb, when 
he will celebrate his nuptials with his Bride, the Church, 
there is to come " the great day of the wrath of the 
Lamb," when his vengeance is to fall upon his enemies. J 
The judgments which will then fall upon the nations, and 
sweep over the face of the globe, with the suddenness and 
rapidity of the hurricane, form the great burden of Pro- 
phecy : — together with the advent of the Lord for the 
deliverance of his people. For such will be the tribu- 
lation, that except those days were shortened, no flesh 
should be saved ; but for the elect's sake — his elect 
nation, Israel, and the election of grace, partakers of the 
Holy Spirit, whether Jew or Gentile, — those days will be 
shortened, § by the appearing of the great God and our 
Saviour Jesus Christ, — the Son of Man coming with 
power and great glory. 

I have said, that these things form the great burden of 
Prophecy : turn to the prophets, and you will find that 
they one and all make mention of these times and events. 
The crisis of affliction commences with the great earth- 
quake or revolution described by St. John, such as was 

* Gal. iii. 7, 29. f Jer. xxx. 7. 

t Rev. vi. 16, 17. § Matt. xxiv. 21, 22. 



112 



SIGXS OF THE SECOND ADVENT 



not since men were upon the earth, so mighty and so 
great;* it is " the shaking of all nations" mentioned 
by Haggai, t — and it is " G-od's controversy with the 
nations" set forth by Jeremiah, j This produces the 
gathering of the nations in the Holy Land, according 
to Zechariah;§ they are the " multitudes in the valley 
of decision" foretold by Joel ; |] — they are "the kings 
of the earth and of the ivhole world, gathered to the 
battle of the great day of God Almighty, in the place 
called Armageddon" as revealed in the Apocalypse. If 
The same insurrection of evil doers constitute " the 
floods of great waters" of the Psalmist;** — the 
" overrunning flood" of Xahum, ft — and " the rushing 
of mighty waters" ^ of Isaiah. Ezekiel describes its 
approach as a storm that is to ascend and come like 
a cloud ;§§ — Habakkuk and Jeremiah as a great whirl- 
wind ; HI — which tempest brings upon the whole earth, 
as well as upon the Jews, the unparalleled (i time of 
trouble" mentioned by Daniel ; 1f1f and Joel's "day 
of darkness and of gloominess."*** This period of 
tyranny, of anarchy, and oppression, will be dissipated 
by judgments still more dreadful, poured upon the 
enemies of the Lord. It ends in " the great and 
dreadful day of the Lord" spoken of by Malachi ;ttt 
even " the day of the Lord upon all the Heathen," 
predicted by Obadiah. j|f For Jeremiah informs us, 

* Eev. xvi. 18. f Hag. ii. 7. J Jer. xxvi. 31. 

§ Zech. xiv. 2. || Joel iii. 14. ^| Eer. xvi. 14—16. 

** Ps. xxxii. 6. ft Xah. i. 8. f J Isa, xvii. 12, 13. 

§§ Ezek. xxxviii. 9. |||| Hab. iii. 14; Jer.xxv. 32; xxx, 23, 24. 
Dan. xii. I. *** Joel ii. 2. ftt ^ IaL iv - 5 - 

ttt 0bacL 15 - 



IN THE STATE OF THE WORLD AT LARGE. 113 

that these nations are all blinded and infatuated, by 
being made to drink of the wine-cup of God's fury ;* 
and Zechariah, that every horse shall therefore be 
smitten with astonishment, and every rider with mad- 
ness ;t and this, (as Zephaniah testifies) and their 
gathering together, is to afford opportunity for God to 
pour out his indignation upon them, and to devour the 
earth with the fire of his jealousy ; J — " a vengeance in 
anger and fury upon the Heathen, (says the Prophet 
Micah,) such as they have not heard.'' § " For the 
Lord shall roar out of Zion, and cause his glorious voice 
to be heard ; " — " his feet shall stand upon the Mount 
of Olives ; " — " he shall behold and drive asunder the 
nations ; " — and " he shall show the lighting down of 
his arm with the indignation of his anger, and with 
the flame of devouring fire, and with scattering, and 
tempest, and hailstones ; " — and " they shall be chased 
as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like 
a rolling thing before the whirlwind : and, behold, at 
evening time trouble ; and before the morning he is 
not."\\ 

I have deemed this brief epitome needful, in order 
that you may duly understand, that the advent of Christ 
is not the event which is immediately to follow those 
political signs to which I am about to draw your atten- 
tion, though it is nigh at hand, even at the doors. These 
tokens indicate rather, that the great and rapid apostasy 
from the faith, — and that lawless outbreak of physical 

* Jer. xxv. 15—17. f Zech. xii. 4. 

t Zeph. iii. 8. § Mic. v. 15.. 

|i Joel iii. 16. Isa. xxx. 30. Zech. xiv. 4. Isa. xvii. 13. 
Hab. iii. 6. 



I 



114 



SIGNS OF THE SECOND ADVENT 



power, — and the political tyranny and usurpation, which 
together constitute the last form and actings of Anti- 
christ, are about immediately to be revealed ; — which 
must first have its terrible, but brief career, fulfilling 
many prophecies ; — and when, in this last form, Anti- 
christ has been developed, and grown to his full dimen- 
sions, then it is that the Lord comes and treads them in 
his anger, and tramples them in his fury. For Isaiah 
assures us, " that the day of vengeance is in his heart," 
at the very time " when the year of his redeemed is 
come."* 

Now the political crisis, to which I request your atten- 
tion, is thus depicted by our Lord in the text : " And 
there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in 
the stars ; and upon the earth distress of nations with 
perplexity ; the sea and the waves roaring ; men's hearts 
failing them for fear, and for looking after those things 
which are coming on the earth ; for the powers of heaven 
shall be shaken." The character of the celestial portion 
of these signs is more fully described in St. Matthew's 
Gospel. — " The sun shall be darkened, and the moon 
shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from 
heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be 
shaken."! 

I take this language to be figurative and symbolical ; 
for though we are bound, in the exposition of prophecy, 
as in the interpretation of every other portion of holy 
writ, to adopt, as a general rule, the most literal 
acceptation of its terms,- — without which we may make 
anything of Scripture, and advance the most conflicting 



* Isa. lxiii. 3, 4. 



f Matt. xxiv. 29. 



IN THE STATE OF THE WORLD AT LARGE. 115 

and uncertain hypotheses ;< — yet, like most other general 
rules, it- has its obvious exceptions. 

I might in the case before us except, that a literal 
shaking of the heavens, to produce the effects described 
in the text, would also of necessity destroy this world and 
the inhabitants thereof ; — whereas it is clear, that what- 
soever these things signify, they only cause a universal 
terror, not an utter destruction ;- — "men's hearts failing 
them for fear, and for looking after the things which are 
coming on the earth ; for " (adds our Lord, as if explain- 
ing the cause of this terror) "the powers of heaven shall 
be shaken." 

Observe, brethren, I do not mean to assert, that there 
will be no heavenly prodigies, or terrible natural pheno- 
mena, attending the advent of Christ. A meteor or star 
indicated his birth, and a supernatural darkness marked 
his death ; and it is not improbable but God may show 
various wonders in the natural heavens at his second 
advent. What I would insist on is, that no such things 
are intended in the text ; but that the signs here 
described occur previous to the Lord's appearing, and 
are the forerunners only of still more awful events, 
which are coming on the earth. 

The principal reason however for this conclusion has 
yet to be considered :■ — which is, the frequent occurrence 
of signs similar to these, in prophecies which already 
have been accomplished ; together with the explanatory 
indices which are in some places inserted. For Pro- 
phecy has certain tropical expressions peculiar to itself, 
the general analogy of which we are bound to consider, 
if we desire a consistent interpretation. In which case, 
I beg you to observe, we do not, by resorting to a 

i 2 



116 



SIGNS OF THE SECOND ADVENT 



figurative sense, give the rein to the imagination, for 
men to invent or adopt any interpretation whatsoever, 
without warrant from Scripture, (as many do, and call it 
spiritual ;) hut we follow a fixed, a clearly defined, and 
readily ascertained sense, which the Holy Ghost hath 
pointed out. I must heg your attention to a few exam- 
ples hearing on the point in hand. 

In Isaiah xiii. 9, 10, is the following oracle (or burden, 
as it is called) concerning Bahylon — " Behold, the day 
of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce 
anger, to lay the land desolate ; and he shall destroy the 
sinners thereof out of it. For the stars of heaven, and 
the constellations thereof, shall not give their light : the 
sun shall he darkened in his going forth, and the moon 
shall not cause her light to shine.' ' And at verse 13, — 
6 ' Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall 
remove out of her place, in the wrath of the Lord of 
hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger." Now the 
seventeenth verse expressly declares, that this relates to 
the conquest of Bahylon hy the Medes. 

Another instance is Ezekiel xxxii. 7, 8, concerning 
Egypt : " And when I shall put thee out, I will cover 
the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark : I will 
cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give 
her light : all the bright lights of heaven will I make 
dark over thee, and set darkness upon thy land, saith the 
Lord God." At verse 11 of this prophecy, and also in 
chap. xxx. it is declared, that these things were to he 
accomplished on Egypt hy the sword of the King of 
Bahylon, Nebuchadnezzar. 

In Isaiah xxxiv. we have a third instance of the use 
of these expressions, applied to the destruction of the 



IN THE STATE OF THE WORLD AT LARGE. 117 



kingdom of Idumea ; though it has a further aspect 
toward the last days, when it is said, " the indignation 
of the Lord shall be upon all nations, and his fury upon 
all their armies : " (verses 2, 5.) "And all the host of 
heaven shall he dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled 
together as a scroll : and all their host (the stars) shall 
fall doion, as the leaf falleth from off the vine, and as a 
falling fig from the fig tree ; for my sword shall be 
bathed in heaven," &c. 

Now though these things have been fulfilled, so far as 
they concern Egypt, Babylon, and Idumea ; — yet have 
we no record that there was any literal darkening of the 
sun and moon, or falling of the stars, at the dissolution of 
those kingdoms ; whilst, on the contrary, in regard to 
two of them, we have a plain intimation in the prophecies 
concerning them, that these terms are to be figuratively 
understood. 

We learn also, from expressions which are here and 
there intermingled with these symbols, what is their sig- 
nification. In the countries where this shaking and this 
darkening of the heavenly luminaries occur, " their idols 
are to be destroyed," " their images to cease," and " no 
more is there to be a prince."* Consequently the 
shaking of the heavens signifies political acts, in the way 
of revolution or wars, which shake the ruling powers of 
a kingdom ; — The darkening of the sun is the overthrow 
of the chief ruler, or the subversion of the throne alto- 
gether ; — the darkening of the moon is the casting down 
of that form of religion which may be established, 
whether idolatrous or otherwise ; — and the falling of the 
stars is the destruction or degradation of subordinate 
* Ezek. xxx. 13. 



118 SIGNS OF THE SECOND ADVENT 

princes, rulers, nobles, priests, &c. This interpretation 
of the signs is further confirmed by two other Scriptures ; 
* — The first is Isaiah xxiv. 21 ; " And it shall come to 
pass in that day, that the Lord shall punish the host of 
the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the 
earth upon the earth:" (it should be read "even the 
kings of the earth upon the earth," — for it is a repetition, 
in other words, or explanation, after the frequent manner 
of Isaiah, of the sentence going before, — viz., the host of 
the high ones that are on high.) " And they shall be 
gathered together as prisoners are gathered in the pit, 
and shall be shut up in prison, and after many days shall 
be visited. Then shall the moon be confounded and the 
sun ashamed, when the Lord of hosts shall reign in 
Mount Zion, and before his ancients gloriously." Thus 
the host of the high ones includes the sun and moon ; 
and this gathering together of the host, previous to their 
being punished, and to the manifestation of the glorious 
kingdom of Christ, shows, that the prophecy belongs to 
those last times we have been considering, when the 
nations shall be gathered in the valley of decision. 

The other Scripture is in Haggai ii. in which the 
expression in verse 21, "I will shake the heavens and 
the earth," — is immediately explained thus : — " I will 
overthrow the throne of kingdoms ; I will destroy the 
strength of the kingdoms of the heathen ; and I will 
overthrow the chariots and those that ride in them, and 
the horses and their riders shall come down, every one 
by the sword of his brother." 

But there is another expression in the text, a terres- 
trial sign, which requires explanation, viz., ' ' the sea and 
the waves roaring ;" which indeed would be no sign at 



IN THE STATE OF THE WORLD AT LARGE. 119 



all, unless it had a figurative meaning ; inasmuch as there 
never is. a tempest, literally, in which the sea and the 
waves are not agitated and roaring ; which frequent 
occurrence of this phenomenon destroys its character as a 
sign. But the expressions, the sea and the waves, are, 
like the heavenly hodies we have considered, so constantly 
occurring in the prophetical Scriptures, intermingled with 
literal expressions, that they can only he regarded as 
tropes. 

Now St. John interprets to us, in the Apocalypse, that 
waters signify " peoples, and multitudes, and nations, 
and tongues."* And Jeremiah thus prophesies con- 
cerning Babylon — " 0 thou that dwellest upon many 
waiters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come : "t 
which verse (whilst it forms a clear example of this 
expression occurring as a figure or trope, in a sentence, 
in which every other word is to be literally understood) is 
also explained more precisely in the following verses ; — 
whence we learn that the waters are the nations, sub- 
dued by Babylon, which instead of flowing any longer to 
her, as tributary streams, would all at once overflow and 
destroy her: — " The sea is come up upon Babylon; she 
is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof ; her 
cities are a desolation." — ' ' The waters shall not flow any 
more unto Bell." — " The Lord hath spoiled Babylon, 
and destroyed out of her the great voice : when her 
waves do roar like great waters, a noise of their voice is 
uttered. These examples evince, that the sea and the 
waves signify, prophetically, the population of the coun- 

* Rev.xvii. 15. f Jer - & 13 - 

J Ibid, verses 43 — 45. 



120 



SIGNS OF THE SECOND ADVENT 



tries,- — the masses of the people as distinguished from 
their rulers. And when these floods or waves are said 
to roar, and to lift up their voice, or to he agitated, 
they are in an insubordinate and tumultuous state, 
threatening the stahility of the powers, against which 
they lift up themselves. An example or two from the 
Psalms will confirm this interpretation. 

First, in Psalm xlvi. " God is our refuge and strength, 
a very present help in trouble ; therefore will we not fear, 
though the earth be removed, and though the mountains 
(which are a symbol of kingdoms having settled govern- 
ments) be carried into the midst of the sea ; (i. e. over- 
turned or swallowed up, by some insurrection of the 
people ;) though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, 
« — though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. 
Now in the sixth verse the whole is thus explained: 
" The Heathen (or Gentiles) raged — the kingdoms were 
moved (or shaken), He uttered his voice, — the earth 
melted." So in Psalm lxv. God is said " to still the 
noise of the seas, the noise of their waves, and (i. e. even) 
the tumult of the people." Again, in Psalm cxxiv. we 
have — " If it had not been the Lord who was on our 
side, when men rose up against us, then had they swal- 
lowed us up quick, when their wrath was kindled against 
us ; — then the waters (the expression, observe, is now 
changed from men to waters) then the waters had over- 
whelmed us, the stream had gone over our soul ;• — then 
the proud waters had gone over our soul." Finally, 
Isaiah says — 4 ' The Lord will lift up an ensign to the 
nations from far" — "and in that day they shall roar 
against them, like the roaring of the sea ; and if one 



IN THE STATE OF THE WORLD AT LARGE. 121 

look unto the land, behold, darkness and sorrow, and the 
light is darkened in the heavens thereof."* 

From all these things taken together we may infer, — 
that at the time, when the prophecy contained in our 
text shall be fulfilled, there shall be a shaking of all 
thrones, and of all established governments and churches ; 
—an extinction of their light, or power ; and a leveling 
of all titles and authorities ; and this through some 
great political earthquake, or revolution, brought about 
by the masses of the people : even as in that great 
earthquake of the Apocalypse, (already noticed,) every 
island flees away, and the mountains are not found, — 
and " the cities of the nations fall : "f — a city being in 
the Apocalypse the symbol of a Church. 

There are some, who do not dispute this interpretation 
of the symbols, who nevertheless refer them, by way 
of application, to the subversion of the Jewish polity, in 
Church and State, by the Romans. But this is utterly 
at variance with the context of the prophecy. For, first, 
Matthew and Mark inform us, that it is after the tribu- 
lation of those days, that the sun shall be darkened, and 
the moon shall not give her light. And Luke informs 
us, that those days of vengeance on the Jews, which 
began with the siege of Jerusalem by Titus, were to 
continue, and Jerusalem be trodden under foot, until 
the times of the Gentiles shall be fulfilled. " After 
the tribulation of those days " cannot therefore mean 
those days themselves, wherein Jerusalem was over- 
thrown : but must be days which shall wind up the 
present Gentile dispensation, and the period of their 
oppression of Israel. 

* Isaiah v. 26, 30. f Rev. xvi. 18 — 20. 



122 



SIGNS OF THE SECOND ADVENT 



The text likewise shows, that these signs are to he 
the immediate forerunners of the coming of the Son of 
man in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory, 
for the redemption of his people ; — of which great events 
no consistent and rational account can he given, as 
having occurred at the destruction of Jerusalem. 

And, once more, the text informs us, that when these 
things shall he fulfilled, it shall he a time of " distress 
of nations, with perplexity:" i.e. (as it may he trans- 
lated) distress of Gentiles : whereas the contrary took 
place at the destruction of Jerusalem : — it was distress 
of the Jews, and triumph of the nations. 

For these, and other reasons which might he given, 
we are compelled to apply these signs to the end of the 
times of the Gentiles, — those times, which I shall pre- 
sently show you, are now expiring. But that shaking of 
thrones and churches, which I have descrihed as then to 
take place, implies, that a democratic and infidel spirit 
will extensively prevail : for the shaking of the powers of 
heaven will not so much arise from a conflict of poten- 
tates for mastery among each other, as from a breaking 
forth of the wrath of man against the powers that be, — 
a general casting off of the yoke and cords of Christ, — 
an insurrection of evil doers against their rulers. It is 
the masses, constituting the physical powers of the 
nations, — those "mighty waters," which being usually 
dammed up by political restraints, — or, like the sea, 
having bounds assigned them of the Almighty, by a 
perpetual decree, which they cannot pass, though the 
waves thereof toss themselves and roar,* — shall now 
have that restraint removed, — and shall overflow and 
* Jer. v. 22. 



IN THE STATE OF THE WORLD AT LARGE. 123 

pass over, and like an irresistible torrent sweep down all 
before it* 

I must bring before you one evidence of this, derived 
from the circumstances of the judgment of that apostate 
Church which is the Babylon and the Harlot of the 
Apocalypse, as contained in Rev. xvii. 

I am convinced that the said Babylonish Harlot is 
the Romish Church ; and that her career has been 
signally blasphemous and antichristian ; yet has it been 
overlooked by many, that she is ultimately destroyed by 
another antichristian pouter , more mighty than herself, — 
even the Beast on which she is seated. 

Now this Beast is no other than the political or 
popular strength (if I may so say) of the nations, over 
which the Harlot has had dominion. For the . angel 
thus invites John to this vision : " Come hither ; I will 
show thee the judgment of the great Whore, that sitteth 
upon many waters ; " — which waters, on which the 
woman sitteth, you will remember, are explained to be 
"peoples, multitudes, nations and tongues." Yet when 
John is taken into the wilderness to see this Harlot, she 
is represented,' — not as sitting upon many waters, but 
as " sitting on a scarlet-coloured Beast, full of names 
of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns." It 
is clear, therefore, that the Beast and the waters are 
the same. 

It is, I think, equally clear, that this Beast is no other 
than the great red Dragon of chap. xii. and the Beast of 
the sea of chap. xiii. ; but under different phases or 
metamorphoses, produced by the political and religious 
circumstances of the times, in which they severally reign 
or act. That they are, in a certain sense, the same is 



124 



SIGNS OF THE SECOND ADVENT 



evident, first, from their all three being represented as 
having seven heads and ten horns. But, secondly, their 
connexion, or even identity, is shown by a still clearer 
mark : viz., in that, when the Beast of chap. xiii. is 
described as rising out of the sea, the Dragon is said to 
give him " his power, seat, and great authority : " it is a 
transfer or abdication in his favour. And whereas this 
Beast is described as being wounded by the sword, and 
yet living, so the Beast of chap, xvii., or the third Beast, 
is said to be " the Beast that was, and is not, and yet 
is;" — and also "the Beast that was, and is not, and 
shall ascend out of the bottomless pit." (Ver. 8.) 

Mark then now the changes in the aspect of this 
beast under his different forms. In the first instance 
there are crowns on his heads, — a symbol that the 
sovereignty was imperial. In the second instance the 
crowns are removed from the heads to the ten horns ; 
and as horns are a symbol for kingdoms, it shows that 
the power had become regal in those nations. In the 
third instance, the crown has disappeared : but we are 
informed by the angel ' 6 that there are seven kings, and 
the beast that was and is not, even he is the eighth : " 
showing that the sovereignty is now transferred from the 
head and the horns to the whole body : it is " the sove- 
reign people." 

So, again, the second Beast had upon his heads the 
name of blasphemy, " and a mouth was given unto him, 
speaking great things and blasphemies : " showing that 
the blasphemy evinced itself in the heads or rulers of the 
empire ; — as in the popes, or kings who supported them. 
But the Beast, in his last form, is " full of names of 
blasphemy : " showing that this impious disease has now 



IN THE STATE OF THE WORLD AT LARGE. 125 

pervaded the body politic ; and that the masses open 
their mouth in blasphemy of every description against 
God and the King. 

This sufficiently confirms the view already taken, that 
the powers which shall he instrumental in inflicting the 
judgment of the last days, shall be both republican and 
infidel : were more proof wanted of their infidelity, we 
have it in these two brief facts ; — first, that this beast 
has his origin, (or last form rather,) from the bottomless 
pit ; and, secondly, that in the end he makes war 
directly with the Lamb, who is Lord of lords, and King 
of kings. 

I now shall proceed to show, that the signs of our 
own times testify aloud in oil the world, that these things 
" begin to come to pass." 

The French Revolution, commencing in the year 1789, 
may truly be regarded as the beginning of a new era in 
the history of Christendom. Those republican and infidel 
principles, which had been for some time smothering in 
France, then burst forth with an explosion and a torrent, 
that amazed and terrified the world. During the first 
three years from its outbreak their king was beheaded, 
and monarchy extinguished ; — the Church was plun- 
dered, — its ministers butchered, — and at length, in the 
country which had recently plumed itself as the most 
catholic, Christianity was altogether abolished by a 
decree of the National Assembly. The nobles of every 
rank were stripped of their titles, and degraded to one 
common level with the multitude ; — a tyranny so grind- 
ing, so bloody, so ruthless was exercised by the democrats, 
as to have obtained for their brief career the just epithet 



126 



SIGNS OF THE SECOND ADVENT 



of " the reign of terror; " — every man's hand was 
against his brother ; — social intercourse was entirely sus- 
pended ; — and the most lawless outrages were committed 
under the pretext of patriotism and humanity. 

The torrent rolled on and passed over into neighbouring 
kingdoms ; — thrones were tumbled into the dust, and 
principalities were shaken round about ; and its effects 
were felt in the remotest portions of the globe. 

A pause has since then taken place ; but the political 
elements are manifestly preparing for another and a 
fiercer storm. Europe resembles a volcanic mountain, 
which occasionally sends forth smoke, and voices and 
thunderino-s are heard within, and the earth trembles and 
is feverish around, and decided shocks are sometimes 
felt : — thus giving fearful indications that another and 
more direful eruption may be expected ; — an outburst that 
will overflow to the extremities of the earth, and produce 
a universal reign of terror, — men's hearts everywhere 
failing them for fear, and for looking after those things 
which are coming on the earth. 

But I must drop figure and point you to these indica- 
tions in more literal terms. In France we had another 
shock in 1830, producing w the glorious days" (as they 
are called) of July ; since which there have been 
repeated plots in that country, having for their object the 
assassination of the king, and the re-establishment of 
republican principles. In Belgium, in Italy, in Poland, 
in Switzerland, in Naples, in Spain, and in Portugal, 
there have likewise been revolutionary movements, pro- 
duced by democratic principles. We are also assured, by 
a competent witness, that the whole body of the popula- 



IN THE STATE OF THE WORLD AT LARGE. 127 

tion of Greece is republican in principle ;* and by another, 
that even Egypt is so extensively imbued with the same 
leaven, owing to the youths sent to be educated in France, 
that it has become proverbial in the East to say of one, 
who betrays republican and infidel principles — ' ' He has 
been in Egypt." In the empires of Russia and Austria 
there are indications of the same spirit giving uneasiness 
to the rulers, and requiring large standing armies to be 
maintained for the purpose of overawing it. If we turn 
to the New World, we find it actually overrun with 
republics ; which in Spanish America more especially 
generate continual factions and repeated changes. 

And what shall we say of Britain ? Alas ! the 
symptoms are too unequivocal of the existence of this 
same disease among ourselves. Since the re-establish- 
ment of the Bourbon dynasty upon the throne of France 
we have had frequent manifestations of the revolutionary 
mania ; of which the towns of Bristol, Derby, Notting- 
ham, Newport, Birmingham, and Sheffield, have borne 
unhappy witness ; to say nothing of still more recent 
outbreaks in the manufacturing districts of Yorkshire and 
Lancashire. 

The newspapers, which are chiefly in request, form a 
pretty good criterion of the principles which are, for the 
most part, prevalent in a nation. Two of these, the 
"Weekly Dispatch" and the "Northern Star," have 
alone attained to the enormous circulation of 150,000 
weekly. When we consider the number of readers and 
hearers of a single copy of these papers in the club- 
rooms and public -houses of the manufacturing districts, 

* Speech of Major Beauclerk in the Debate on the Greek 
Loan, July 28, 1836. 



821 



SIGNS OF THE SECOND ADVENT 



it is not too much to say that more than a million persons 
are every week made acquainted with the contents of 
these papers. And what are their contents ? — The 
Queen is continually held up to ridicule in them; — the 
Peers are spoken of as "bloated old fools," and "natural 
born idiots ; " — the Church and Christianity itself are 
held up as " nuisances that must be got rid of ; " and 
the people are admonished, "that if they would but exer- 
cise their good sense, there would not exist a throne nor 
a church in this country any longer." These are actual 
expressions drawn from those publications themselves.* 

But even these are exceeded in atrocity by the 
numerous unstamped papers of the day. A high autho- 
rity has stated, in the House of Lords, that the Attorney- 
General of the day had shown him a list of 163 different 
unstamped newspapers, all vieing with each other in the 
most atrocious statements. In them the lawfulness of 
rebellion is maintained ; all governments and governors 
are held up as nuisances ; and the propriety of assassina- 
tion and of incendiarism are openly defended.! 

Some persons think it a sufficient objection to these 
things being considered as signs of the last times, that 
there have been seasons of republicanism and blasphemy 
before, which have not terminated so disastrously as now 
anticipated ; the days of our first Charles being instanced, 
as a case in point ; and the danger of which passed over, 
so far as the country in general is considered. But there 
was no responding voice, in those days, in other countries ; 

* See papers of April 15 and 23, and December, 1838 : Sep- 
tember 1 and 15, 1839 ; January 19, 1840. 

f Evidence of Lord Brougham before the Committee on the 
Law of Libel. 



IN THE STATE OF THE WORLD AT LARGE. 129 

neither was there any sympathy in the masses of society 
in general ; whereas the great danger now is from the 
multitude. Never were the masses in all lands known to 
he so generally disaffected towards their rulers ; — never 
were they known to he so organized,— -to confederate so 
extensively, and to combine so systematically against their 
superiors and employers ; never were they known to view 
with such sullen contempt and anger the ancient institu- 
tions of their country, and the national forms of religion 
in which they have heen cradled. In former ages the 
masses have ever heen ready to fight for their religion, 
however erroneous ; now they are aiming to get rid of all 
religion, however true. A specimen of the infidel spirit 
of these men, and of its daring effrontery, was afforded 
in this metropolis in 1838, similar to many other instances 
of the like character which have occurred in country 
towns. I allude to the Chartists going in a hody to the 
parish church of Spitalfields, taking possession of the 
pews, to the exclusion of the rightful owners ; — throwing 
their heads "backward at the name of Christ, in- mockery 
of bowing to him ; and then rising up as soon as the text 
was given out, and quitting the church in a body. So in 
the year 1834, (when a day was appointed for national 
fasting and humiliation, on account of the cholera and 
judgments of the Lord which were then abroad in the 
land,) the members of the political unions in London 
openly set it at defiance ; they paraded the streets in 
bands, locked arm in arm, singing profane songs ; — and 
after harassing the police in various ways, and insulting 
those who seemed going to or coming from the churches, 
they adjourned to taverns and public-houses, for the 
purpose of concluding the day with a debauch. 

K 



130 



SIGNS OF THE SECOND ADVENT 



JNTor must it be supposed that these principles are con- 
fined to the lower classes. In London and our larger 
towns avowedly infidel congregations meet every Sabbath- 
day, which are chiefly attended by the middling classes. 
I witnessed myself at Newcastle, during the Easter of 
last year, the walls of the town placarded with bills, 
announcing that on Easter Sunday, at Joiners' Hall, 
lectures would be given exposing the fraud and fallacy of 
the Resurrection and Ascension of Christ, and the doc- 
trine of a General Resurrection and Judgment grounded 
thereon ; — the whole concluding with a phantasmagoria : 
for admission to all which a price was required, and the 
clergy were challenged to attend and advocate the oppo- 
site side. Placards of a similar character I have 
frequently observed in Manchester, Edinburgh, and other 
large towns. 

These principles still more extensively, — and I may 
add, still more atrociously, — pervade the respectable 
classes of society abroad ; which may be judged of, first, 
by the nmnber of infidel works, adapted for educated 
persons, which find an immediate sale. In Paris alone, 
during the seven years ending 1824 (as we learn from 
authentic tables), upwards of two million volumes of the 
works of Voltaire and Rousseau were printed : and these 
are only two authors out of many such, — some of a far 
worse character.* An extract from a French newspaper 
of last year will afford further proof of the state of things 
in that country : " Materialism (it says) — complete, 
gross, self-sufficient Materialism, — not deigning to dis- 
pute with spirituality, because this antagonist seems too 
feeble, too mean for its powerful arms, — this is our 
* "Record" Newspaper, December 24, 1835. 



IN THE STATE OF THE WORLD AT LARGE. 131 

present state, — this is the moral condition of the 
country.-' * 

As to Germany, one fact must suffice. A work has 
recently appeared by H. Heine, a writer of great reputa- 
tion on the Continent, which, the " Quarterly Review 55 
informs us, has created an extraordinary sensation both 
in France and Germany. This writer states, that they 
have outgrown Deism ; and advocates Pantheism, or the 
doctrine that there is no divinity but man, and that all 
men are gods. He despises French Materialism, except- 
ing that which is held by the St. Simonians, (who are the 
Socialists of the Continent ;) and this (he says) is better 
understood and appreciated in Germany than in France ; 
because it is the religion of all their greatest thinkers 
and best artists. Contemplating the growth of these 
principles, and looking forward to the results, he states, 
" that these doctrines have developed revolutionary forces, 
which now only wait the moment to explode, and fill the 
world with terror and admiration." " Then (he adds) 
will be performed a drama, compared to which the 
French Revolution was but an innocent idyl." 

Surely, brethren, we behold in those political signs 
which I have now set before you, lineaments clearly 
developing themselves of the Beast who ascends from the 
bottomless pit, — who is devoid of the crown, — who wars 
with the Lamb, — and whose body is full of names of 
blasphemy ! 

II. I will now call your attention to natural signs, not 
limited to our own country, but, as in the case of political 
signs, made manifest to the world in general. 

* " L'Esperance," January 1, 1841. 

K 2 



132 



SIGNS OF THE SECOND ADVENT 



Almost all interpreters of the prophecy of our Lord, 
which contains the text, admit, that it has an aspect 
toward the end of the world, or of the Gentile dispensa- 
tion, as well as toward the end of the Mosaical dispensa- 
tion ; and therefore they consider, that those signs which 
our Lord gave, as indicating that the end was at hand, 
belong to both periods ; — what occurred previous to the 
destruction of Jerusalem, being but a pattern or type of 
what is to occur in the last days, and to serve as warnings 
to that generation. And I may add, that what occurred 
previous to the former crisis, are but a faint type of what 
is to precede the latter crisis ; for the frequent occurrence 
of these signs in our own times is very striking, if com- 
pared with the period which elapsed between our Lord 
foretelling the destruction of Jerusalem, and the actual 
overthrow thereof. Of earthquakes there are two shocks 
recorded, as having been felt at Rome, and one at 
Apamea in the reign of Claudius ; there was one which 
destroyed several cities of Asia Minor in the year 60, 
and another of disastrous character in Campania in the 
year 63. There was also an eruption of Mount Vesuvius 
in the reign of Titus. There are two instances of 
pestilence recorded ; one at Babylon (a. d. 50), the other 
in Italy (a.d. 66). And there were four periods of 
famine, but limited as to geographical extent : the first 
at Rome ; the second in Palestine (which is mentioned in 
the Acts of the Apostles, chap. xi. 21;) the third in 
Greece ; and the fourth again at Rome.* These, I 

* See Tacitus, Ann. xvi. 1 3 ; Phlegon de Mirab. cap. xii. ; 
Josephus, Ant. xx. c. 7 ; and the general history of that period 
in Suetonius, Eusebius, Gibbon, and other authors. 



IN THE STATE OF THE WORLD AT LARGE. 133 

believe, are all that commentators are able to instance, 
when showing from historical testimony, that such signs 
occurred before the destruction of Jerusalem, 

In regard then to earthquakes, were we to notice all 
the shocks recorded since the French Revolution until 
now, they would exceed, by more than tenfold, those 
which I have enumerated : for scarce a year elapses with- 
out one or more occurring : our newspapers are this very 
week filled with the accounts of shocks, which have 
alarmed the inhabitants of Lancashire and Cheshire. 
But I must content myself with mentioning those only 
which have proved calamitous. In 1812 an earthquake 
destroyed the large city of Carraccas in South America, 
and 20,000 persons were plunged by it into eternity, in 
the city and in the province of Venezuela. In 1822 an 
earthquake destroyed Antioch, Aleppo, Latakia, and 
Scanderoon, with many villages, and several thousand 
human beings. Another occurred in Syria in 1836, 
which destroyed 2,395 houses, and 4,000 of the inhabit- 
ants. In 1839 a disastrous calamity of the same kind 
occurred in the island of Martinique. In 1840 Zante 
was destroyed by earthquake, and a small island adjoin- 
ing, with all its inhabitants, entirely disappeared. In 
1841 a portion of Mount Ararat was dissevered by 
earthquake, which in falling destroyed several thousand 
houses with their inhabitants. In the same year the 
city of Reggio in Calabria was destroyed ; and also 
Cartago, in Central America, with its 10,000 inhabitants. 
In the last year a serious one occurred at Androusa, in 
Greece ; but the most calamitous of all took place at St. 
Domingo in the same year ; by which the town of Cape 
Haytien was swallowed up, containing 15,000 persons ; 



134 



SIGNS OF THE SECOND ADVENT 



and about 60,000 more perished in the districts around. 
And whilst we are yet delivering these Lectures intelli- 
gence is received of another, which has destroyed the 
town of Point a Pitre in the Island of Guaclaloupe, with 
several smaller towns, and some thousands of inhabitants. 

In regard to pestilences, besides unusual visitations of 
the plague,' — which in 1836 destroyed in Bagdad alone 
50,000 persons ; and in Constantinople raged with un- 
usual violence, especially among the Franks ;< — the 
Asiatic cholera burst out in 1831, and made the tour of the 
world. Some millions of its inhabitants were carried off 
by it : nearly half a million in the Austrian States alone. 
For awhile men seemed alarmed at this visitation ; and 
our churches were crowded with anxious listeners ; but 
when the excitement had passed away, the second visit in 
1837, though in many parts of the Continent more 
destructive, was but little heeded. 

Another invisible enemy, in the form of pestilence, 
appeared in Europe in 1836 and 1837, which, for want 
of its character being better known, went in Britain by 
the common name of influenza, and grippe on the Con- 
tinent. The numbers attacked and prostrated by it were 
never perhaps equalled. At Madrid the Cortes, in 
France the Chamber of Deputies, were obliged to suspend 
their sittings, through lack of members. In England the 
courts of justice were closed, the business of the Bank 
and Post-office greatly impeded, and numerous churches 
in town and country shut up from inability to procure 
ministers ; and the like circumstances characterized the 
visitation in Holland and Germany. The proportion of 
deaths was in the first instance but small ; but the constitu- 
tion was proved so much debilitated, that ordinary attacks 



IN THE STATE OF THE WORLD AT LARGE. 135 



of disease afterwards proved fatal ; and some medical 
practitioners have given it as their opinion, that, in the 
end, more persons were carried off hy this disease, than 
by the cholera. 

We have also had famine in divers places. Ireland 
has heen several times visited. In 1837 the greatest 
distress prevailed in the Highlands of Scotland from the 
same cause. In France great suffering was endured in 
the same year from famine ; and in Egypt the population 
of Alexandria and Cairo were described as literally 
starving. In Switzerland, in the same year, the harvest 
was destroyed in ten districts by inundations ; also in 
Wallachia, causing famine in those regions. In the 
West Indies the same effect was produced by hurricanes ; 
in the East Indies by unusual drought ; in which latter 
country no less than half a million of natives perished 
from starvation. In 1838 the price of flour in some parts 
of America was from scarcity five shillings the stone ; 
and at Sydney in 1839 sixpence the pound. In the 
same year at Bermuda and Madras, the crops were 
so devastated by hurricanes, as to occasion great distress : 
whilst in the East Indies thousands of the natives were 
again suffering. And numerous other instances might be 
given, did time permit, showing that this judgment also 
is going the circuit of the world. 

I cannot pass from these natural signs, without 
mentioning another, which, though not named in our 
Lord's prophecy, is nevertheless most manifestly a judg- 
ment from him, in the way of warning, whereby he is 
pleading with an ungodly world : I allude to the 
numerous and remarkable fires which have occurred. 

I do not mean to lay any emphasis on the mere increase 



136 



SIGNS OF THE SECOND ADVENT 



of the number of single houses, on which God ha? sent 
burning in the joyous cities ; — neither do I purpose to 
instance such cases as the extensive fires in Liverpool ; — 
nor the conflagrations in our arsenals in 1840 ; — nor the 
Paris railroad catastrophe ; — nor the burning of a 
Minster, an Exchange, nor the Houses of Parliament. 
Within the last seven years, no less than thirty-eight 
cities and towns have been in great part or wholly 
destroyed by the devouring element ! Of these I may 
instance, in Russia — 5,000 houses at Novo Uralsky, — 
and 1,317 at Khasan (of which -151 were of stone), and 
many churches. In the Turkish dominions 500 houses 
in Constantinople, 15,000 houses having previously been 
destroyed in 1826 in that city, and 6,000 in 1833. 
Besides these conflagrations, 7,284 houses have been 
burnt in Smyrna ; a great portion of Trebisond, with ten 
ships in the harbour; and two-thirds of Salonica. In 
the Austrian dominions are the town of Steijer, and 800 
houses at Lugos in Hungary. There is the half of 
Rhembach in Prussia ; — four-fifths of Camenz in Ger- 
many ; — and upwards of 1,000 houses in the great 
commercial city of Hamburgh. Creuilly in Normandy, 
and a town in Andalusia in Spain, have been nearly 
consumed. In the East are Surat, where 4,000 houses 
were destroyed ; and 900 houses at Sourabaya, in the 
Island of Java. In America, New York has, during this 
period, been six times a prey to the flames : in the first 
attack alone 600 buildings were consumed ; altogether 
about doable that number. Mobile has been four times 
attacked : on the first occasion 500 houses were binned, 
and the three last fires have almost entirely destroyed it. 
Charleston, George Town, New Orleans, and Philadel- 



IN THE STATE OF THE WORLD AT LARGE. 137 

phia, have also greatly suffered. Quibdo, the capital of 
Choco in New Granada, was entirely consumed in 1839 ; 
and the half of St. John's, New Brunswick, together 
with forty vessels, have likewise been destroyed. 

I might add numerous instances of disastrous inunda- 
tions, by which France has more especially suffered ; — 
Portugal, likewise, and its dependency Madeira ; — but I 
must desist : surely these visitations of earthquake, pesti- 
lence, famine, and the flame of devouring fire, taken 
together, and considering the short space of time in 
which they have occurred, testify loudly that God is 
sending forth his warning judgments into the world ; and 
that those signs are fulfilling which are specially to be 
understood as the precursors of his advent in glory ! 

III. We have still to consider the religious signs of 
this event. And these must be subdivided : for whilst 
there are some, which, in a better sense, may be called 
religious ; there are others, which, whilst seeming to be 
so, are manifestly no more than the work of Satan. I 
do not allude to avowed infidelity and blasphemy ; — for 
the spirit, of which these things are the fruit, aims so 
directly at the destruction of all religion, and at the 
exaltation of political principles in its stead, that I have 
necessarily been obliged to consider it under the first 
class of signs. They do, indeed, in their boastings, lay 
claim to something superior to religion, and assert that 
their principles are to effect that regeneration of mankind, 
which Christianity has failed to accomplish. Thus the 
Chartists and Political Unionists boast, that it is to be 
brought about by universal suffrage, and the dominion of 
the body and members over the head. The Socialists, to 
use their own words, boast, " That they will put a final 



138 



SIGNS OF THE SECOND ADVENT 



end to extortion and oppression, — feed all the hungry and 
clothe all the naked, — and remove all complainings from 
our streets." * The infidel Jews of the Continent hoast, 
that they expect no other Messiah than the French 
Revolution ; whilst their infidel Gentile neighbours tell 
us, that the universal triumph of those revolutionary 
principles will constitute the true Millennium. 

But our Lord warned us, in the prophecy connected 
with the text, that before the end of this dispensation we 
are to have false Christs and false prophets. For this 
sign is by Matthew, in his narrative, distinctly repeated, 
in connexion with those signs which are immediately to 
precede the advent ; and the apostles Peter, Jude, and 
John, expressly teach, that there shall be false prophets ; 
and moreover so describe these false prophets, that we 
may clearly behold them in the present times. For 
surely we have multitudes, who "despise government" 
or dominion, and are not afraid to speak evil of 
dignities, f 

In the Socialists, and more numerous St. Simonians, 
we see "scoffers, walking after their own lusts;" — 
" filthy dreamers who defile the flesh ; " — " forbidding to 
marry,"' — "having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot 
cease from sin." \ And both in these, and in the Deists, 
Unitarians, Arians, Socinians, and Geologists of our 
times, we have those false teachers, " who privily bring 
in damnable heresies," "denying the Lord that bought 
them, the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ." § 

If (as St. John declares) he is Antichrist, who denieth 
the Father and the Son, surely " now there are many 

* "Northern Star," August 11. 1833. 

f 2 Pet. ii. 10; Jude v. 8. % 2 Pet. ii. 14. § 2 Pet. ii. 1. 



IN THE STATE OF THE WORLD AT LARGE. 139 

antichrists, whereby we know that it is the last time.'** 
Jude also calls these false teachers (or false prophets — 
for they are the same) " murmurers and complainers," t 
persons, i. e., who are ever hunting for grievances ; and 
compares them to " raging waves of the sea, foaming out 
their own shame ;" thus identifying them with " the sea 
and the waves roaring." 

Then we have the more fanatical classes of false 
prophets, which abound in our time ; among whom also 
are some who may justly be deemed false Christs. The 
followers of Joanna Southcote are well known, who are 
numerous in some parts, and declare that the Shiloh 
actually was born of Joanna, but that he was caught 
away, and carried into the wilderness, where he remains 
until the time for his manifestation ; as if they had 
desired to fulfil this prophecy of our Lord, who warns us 
that some will say of his coming, " Behold, he is in the 
desert." 

A man called Thorns, alias Sir William Courtenay, a 
few years since pretended that he was the Christ, showing 
wounds in his hands and bosom to his followers, many of 
whom (it will be in your recollection) perished in an affray 
with the military. I might bring forward several other 
circumstances, did time permit, of impostors of this kind ; 
especially on the Continent, some account of whom is 
given in a German work on the Signs of the Times, 
attributed to Professor Tholuck, of Berlin. One most 
extravagant sect, however, which has recently sprung up 
in America, under the guidance of a false prophet, I 
cannot pass over — I mean the Mormonites. Their leader, 
who is an ignorant and vulgar profligate, has been once 
* 1 John ii. 18. f Jude 16 « 



140 



SIGNS OF THE SECOND ADVENT 



or twice exposed and disconcerted ; but without its open- 
ing the eyes of his still more fanatical and besotted 
followers. Not to enter into a regular history of this 
sect, let it suffice, that, from the testimony of those who 
have visited their settlement, they combine the grossest 
fanaticism with the commission of every species of immo- 
rality ; — that they discard God's Word, and prefer the 
pretended visions and revelations of their leader ; — that 
they number already one hundred thousand adherents, 
the larger proportion of whom are natives of Britain — of 
religious and intelligent Britain I — that they think it 
lawful to propagate their faith and to punish opposers by 
force of arms, when the opportunity shall permit ; — and 
they have already raised a military legion, which twelve 
months ago consisted of 1,700 fighting men. These 
things create no small uneasiness among some in that 
country, who regard them as rising up like the Maho- 
medan fanatics of a former age, to punish a corrupt, a 
divided, and a worldly Church.* 

Nor can I pass by this part of my subject, without 
noticing another heresy, which, as an ecclesiastical 
system, and in doctrine, is, pre-eminently the false 
prophet of Scripture : I mean Popery. I have already 
drawn your attention to the fact, that it is described in 
Rev. xvii., as the Harlot seated on the Infidel Beast ; — 
and as that Great City, on many waters, mystically called 
Great Babylon. But I would particularly call your 
attention to this circumstance, — that when the Spirit of 
God shows unto John the Judgment of the Whore, as 
described in chapters xvii. and xviii., he selects the 
moment, in the opening of the vision, when she is seated 

* " Three days at Nauvoo." By the Rev. H. Caswell, M. A. 



IN THE STATE OF THE WORLD AT LARGE. 141 

in gorgeous array of purple and gold upon the beast ; 
and is represented as " saying, in her heart, I sit a 
Queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow."* 
From which I infer, — that though she shall have been 
threatened with widowhood and with sorrow, yet that she 
shall be apparently prospering and extending or recover- 
ing power, just at the moment when judgment shall fall 
upon her : — for " Therefore," it is written, 6 ' shall her 
plagues come in one day" — i. e., suddenly and unex- 
pectedly. She shall not only, up to the last, make the 
nations on which she sits drunk with the wine of her 
fornication ; but she shall become intoxicated with it 
herself, and under a judicial infatuation shall be crying 
" Peace and safety," when sudden destruction cometh 
upon her. 

How remarkable was the type of this also during the 
progress of the French Revolution ! In the year 1790 
the National Assembly declared " that their attachment 
to the Catholic Apostolic, and Roman worship could not 
be doubted ; " and in 1792 not only was that corrupt form 
of worship dashed down with violence, like a millstone 
cast into the sea ; but Christianity itself was abolished, 
and miscalled Reason worshipped in its stead. f And 
now behold, brethren, in the signs of our own times, how 
much safer it is to walk by the light of the sure word of 
prophecy, however present appearances may seem to con- 
tradict, than to follow the spurious glimmer of man's 
false philosophy, even though appearances may be in its 
favour. Those who looked only at Prophecy, even when 
Popery was humbled, declared that she would rise again, 

* Rev. xvii. 3; xviii. 7. 

f Eysh's "History of the French Revolution," pp. 91, 203, 



142 



SIGNS OF THE SECOND ADVENT 



and obtain some considerable measure of power and 
ascendancy once more : those, on the contrary, who fol- 
lowed the sparks of their own kindling, ridiculed the idea 
that such a superstition should ever revive or acquire 
influence, in an age of surpassing learning, science, and 
knowledge, like this boasted nineteenth century ; — and 
insisted that she must needs wane and decline before its 
glorious light. But which opinion has proved itself the 
correct one ? Alas ! great indeed appears to be the 
renovation of Popery now going forward ! Within the 
last five- and- twenty years she has covered this island with 
new chapels ; — she is sending out her missionaries, with 
a zeal worthy of a better cause, into all lands, and suc- 
cessfully establishing her worship in various places — 
and 0, (tell it not in Gath,) the unclean spirit which has 
now gone forth out of the mouth of the False Prophet, 
has raised up even in the bosom of a Protestant Univer- 
sity, a band of degenerate children of our own Church, 
who are doing all they can, covertly and openly, to subvert 
Evangelical truth, and to reconcile men's minds to the 
abominations of the Harlot ! Yea, and some, even 
ministers of the Establishment, have committed adultery 
with her, and are " teaching and seducing Christ's 
servants to commit fornication with her ! " 

I need not tell you that this pestilential heresy is daily 
spreading, and becomes more daring in the prospect of 
success. But — it will be the triumph only of a moment ! 
Her own corrupt system has hatched those infidel cocka- 
trice eggs, that will in the end ruin her. " They shall 
rise up suddenly that shall bite her : " — the very beast on 
which she sits, and who now fawns when she caresses, 
shall "turn again and rend her;" — and her fancied 



IN THE STATE OF THE WORLD AT LARGE. 143 

glory, when apparently just within her grasp, shall vanish 
as the night vision !• — ' ' It shall he even as when an 
hungry man dreameth, and, hehold, he eateth ; hut he 
awaketh, and his soul is empty — " for the fruits that 
her soul lusted after shall he departed from her, and all 
things which were goodly and dainty are departed from 
her, and she shall find them no more at all ! And the 
kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and 
lived deliciously with her, shall hewail her, and lament 
for her, when they shall see the smoke of her hurning ; — 
standing afar off for fear of her torment, saying — 
Alas, alas, that great city Bahylon, that mighty city ! 
for in one hour is thy judgment come."* 

Under the head of false religion, I must finally notice 
that general corruption of morals, and the spirit of 
apostasy, which is now everywhere to he observed, and is 
daily increasing. This is clearly marked by St. Paul 
as one of the signs of the last days ; — even as it has 
invariably preceded every great crisis of judgment. In 
the days of Noah, it was the precursor of the flood ; — 
it was the mark that the people of Sodom, and that 
the Amorites were filling up the measure of their 
iniquity ; — and it indicated the approach of judgments 
on Israel prior to the captivity to Babylon, and also 
previous to their last great dispersion. But Paul teaches 
Timothy expressly — " This know also, that in the last 
days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers 
of their ownselves, covetous, boasters, proud, blas- 
phemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 
without natural affection, truce-breakers, false accusers, 
incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 
* Rev. xviii. 9, 10, 14. 



144 



SIGNS OF THE SECOND ADVENT 



traitors, heady, highrainded, lovers of pleasures more than 
lovers of God ; having a form of godliness, hut denying 
the power thereof."* 

Now, though the apostle points out to Timothy, that 
there were already some " of this sort 7 ' discernihle in 
his times, (as indeed there are in all times,) yet he only 
draws his attention to these as specimens ; as is evident 
from the context. For he says that these perilous times 
shall come : not that they had then arrived, which they 
would have heen had these characteristics heen generally 
prevalent. They were indeed visible among the Jews, 
and pervading the whole mass of society in Palestine : 
hut then Timothy had nothing to do with the circum- 
cision : he was exercising his ministry among Gentiles ; 
and the apostle therefore must evidently he speaking, in 
the main, of the signs which will mark the end of the 
Gentile dispensation. 

It is not practicable for me, within my present limits, 
to touch upon all the characteristics here mentioned by 
the apostle, and to show that they have now broken out 
like a copious rash upon the whole face of society — • 
indicating the malignant and incurable disease which 
lurks beneath its surface. One single particular I will 
briefly notice, because it is that into which the Apostle 
chiefly resolves the whole — viz., " the having the form of 
godliness, but denying the power thereof." This is 
indeed a remarkable characteristic, that men who are 
" blasphemers , despisers of those that are good, unholy, 
traitors, heady, highminded," — should nevertheless affect 
the form of godliness ! Yet so it is ; and that in a 
manner quite unprecedented. Let me remind you of a 
* 2 Tim. hi. 1—6. 



IN THE STATE OF THE WORLD AT LARGE. 145 



few instances : At a great Meeting of the Political 
Union held at Birmingham in 1838, the Chairman 
opened the proceedings with prayer. All took off their 
hats, including many who were avowed Atheists or 
Infidels. The Chairman then asserted the sovereignty 
of the masses, and declared, " that God had given us 
all blessings, government had given us none ; " — thus, in 
the very hour of making his prayer 6 ' despising govern- 
ment," and " speaking evil of dignities,"- — both of them 
marks of the last day scoffers. 

The operatives of Oldham, having destroyed a factory 
in a riot, in consequence of which two of their party 
were apprehended, met to the number of 30,000 to 
deliberate. The Meeting concluded by singing " Praise 
God from whom all blessings flow ; " and separated with 
the determination not to resume work, until their two 
companions were liberated. A Meeting held at Board- 
man Edge, for the same purpose, was addressed by a 
Methodist local preacher, and was commenced and con- 
cluded with psalm- singing. During the Chartist tumults 
of last year, the mob from Todmorden entered Halifax 
in procession, having two or three hundred females in the 
van, walking three abreast, with a man on each side, and 
singing the hundredth Psalm. 

Many Dissenting chapels are nothing more than 
nurseries of rebellion and treason under the pretence of 
godliness. Sermons, preached on the Sabbath-day, have 
been made the vehicle for producing daggers, pistols, and 
ammunition, and exhorting the hearers to arm. In 
Scotland the Chartists have numerous chapels, at which 
the form of Divine worship is preserved, and they baptize 
children and dispense what they call a sacrament. But 

L 



146 



SIGNS OF THE SECOND ADVENT 



the discourses are nothing more than tirades against 
kings and rulers, and the usual seditious outcry against 
governments. 

Passing from these, it is well known that the Popish 
priests of Ireland make furious political speeches, and 
denounce their political opponents from the altar, as they 
call the communion table. And though such things are 
not yet done by that Popish school, which has risen up 
in our own Establishment, because the laws of the 
Church prevent it ; yet the most prominent feature of 
that system is the multiplication of the forms of religion 
and a denial of the spirit and power thereof. The form 
of baptism is scrupulously attended to, and great em- 
phasis is laid thereon ; but the need of regeneration by 
the Holy Ghost, if baptism hath been administered, is 
denied. The sacrament of the Lord's Supper is greatly 
exalted, whilst the doctrine of justification by faith, of 
which we are reminded therein, is discouraged or dis- 
owned. And many pharisaical mummeries are now 
encouraged, whilst the power of Divine grace is ridiculed. 
But all this is only a more full-blown development of the 
spirit of the multitude ; — the more decent of whom have 
been externally devout in their attention to ordinances ; — 
the more thoughtless of whom have grossly desecrated 
those ordinances, trampling on the pearls of baptism and 
confirmation, whilst both parties have been ready to scoff 
at the power of godliness, as the raving of enthusiasts or 
fanatics. 

But, blessed be God ! there are a few bright and 
refreshing signs abroad in the world of the approaching 
advent of Christ, with the brief mention of two of which 
I will now bring this long discourse to a conclusion. 



K 

IN THE STATE OF THE WORLD AT LARGE. 147 

Among the signs which, in the prophecy of onr Lord, 
are immediately to precede the end, is the preaching of 
the Gospel in all nations ; — not (as some have erroneously 
concluded) for the conversion of the world, but as a 
witness, or testimony unto them,- — as our Lord himself 
declares. Indeed, wheresoever the conversion of the 
world is mentioned in Scripture, it will he found, from 
the context, that it follows that great crisis of judgment, 
we have noticed, and the advent of the Lord Jesus 
Christ. 

That there will be a preaching of the Gospel in the 
world, equal in extent to that which preceded the end of 
the Mosaical dispensation — and that it will be termi- 
nated by a great crisis of judgment ; — is made very clear 
by the vision described by St. John in Rev. xiv. He 
beholds an angel fly in the midst of heaven, " having 
the everlasting Gospel to preach unto them that dwell on 
the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, 
and people ; saying with a loud voice, Fear God and give 
glory to him, for the hour of his judgment is come." 
And another angel follows, saying, " Babylon is fallen, is 
fallen," &c. From which, I repeat, it is clear that when 
we shall see a great Missionary or Evangelical agency, 
going through the world, to make known the Gospel to 
the nations, we are to understand it as a sign.' — It is, as 
it were, God proclaiming to us, with a loud voice — that 
judgment is at hand ; — especially judgment on the harlot 
Church, which is Babylon. 

And from the same period from which we date the 
outbreak of Antichristian principles, viz., the French 
Revolution, may be likewise dated the commencement of 
those gigantic religious efforts which are now witnessed 

L 2 



148 



SIGNS OF THE SECOND ADVENT 



in the world ; so that " when the enemy came in like a 
flood, the Spirit of the Lord lifted up a standard against 
him."* Since then the Scriptures have heen printed in 
upwards of 200 different languages and dialects of the 
" nations, tongues, and peoples ; " and about twenty 
million copies of the whole or portions have heen poured 
into the world. Since then numerous Missionary So- 
cieties have sent forth their heralds to the four winds ;• — 
schools for the instruction of old and young in the truths 
of religion, have heen opened in all directions ; (the 
system of Sabbath schools, infant schools, and adult 
schools, being peculiar to this age ;) — and every year 
beholds new Societies, having some religious object, start 
into existence. 

Some are perplexed, how to reconcile these things, and 
the apparent increase also of persons of serious piety, 
with the fact that the ivorld, or great masses of society, 
are waxing more irreligious and blasphemous. But the 
existence of both these signs together is a far more con- 
clusive token of the Judgment and the Advent being at 
hand, than if religion only were on the increase : for it is 
God's manner thus to call out his Election before he 
strikes. Thus, in the time of Hezekiah and Josiah, the 
last of the pious kings of Juclah, previous to the captivity 
to Babylon, there were extensive revivals of religion ; but 
for all this the Lord's anger was not toned away, but his 
arm was stretched out still. And in the latter end of 
the Jewish polity, our Lord Jesus himself appeared, by 
means of whose disciples, after his return to the Father, 
thousands were truly converted unto God, and " a great 
company of the priests became obedient to the faith : " 
* Isaiah lix. 19. 



IN THE STATE OF THE WORLD AT LARGE. 149 

yet the apostle declares, as regards the nation at large, 
that they were left " to fill up their sins alway : because 
the wrath was come upon them to the uttermost."* 

The ^ther sign I would notice is, the great and 
increasing interest in behalf of Israel which is now 
awakened, both among political and religious persons : — 
all which looks toward their speedy restoration to their 
own land. The subject is too large for me to attempt to 
do it justice, within the limits of this present discourse : 
' — I must content myself with two brief remarks con- 
cerning them. The first is, that after ages of oppression, 
which the Jews have experienced from all among whom 
they have been led captive, the powers of Europe began, 
at the era of the French Revolution, to relax in the 
severity of their measures against them ; and whilst 
some of the states of the Continent have admitted them 
to equal civil rights and privileges with their other 
subjects, almost all have passed laws ameliorating their 
political condition. At this time an eminent and wealthy 
Jew, who has distinguished himself by a mission which 
he undertook, in behalf of his oppressed countrymen in 
Syria, is invited by the Russian ministry to repair to 
St. Petersburgh, for the purpose of assisting in the con- 
sultations of the government in behalf of the two millions 
and a-half of Jews in the dominions of the Emperor, f 

And as some thus speak comfortably to Jerusalem in 
political matters, others are anxious to address to her 
sons the far greater consolations of the Gospel ; and to 
comfort them with those prophecies, which speak of their 
restoration and glory under Messiah. They would knock 
* 1 Thess. ii. 16. 

f " Voice of Jacob," a Jewish newspaper, No. 39. 



150 



SIGNS OF THE SECOND ADVENT 



off those fetters which our tyranny hath forged ; — they 
would bind up those wounds which our bigotry hath 
inflicted ; — they would wipe away that sweat and those 
tears, which our oppression hath wrung from them ; and 
raise up the drooping heads, which we, alas ! have 
bowed down. Already kings are to be found who are 
nursing fathers to them, and queens who are as nursing 
mothers to them ; and a great and increasing interest is 
taken by Christians in general concerning all which 
relates to the Jew,' — to Zion, — to Palestine. 

And what is this, but a sign that their tribulation, 
now of nearly 1800 years, is just running out ; — that the 
warfare of Jerusalem is all but accomplished ? For it 
is written, in Psalm cii., " Thou shalt arise and have 
mercy upon Zion : for the time to favour her, yea, the 
set time, is come. For thy servants take pleasure in her 
stones, and favour the dust thereof/'* 

And now, dear brethren, suffer in conclusion, the word 
of exhortation. 

I have brought before you what I trust will be con- 
sidered striking signs ; and they are signs not done in a 
corner ; but such as evince that God is sounding the 
alarm in all his holy mountain, and lifting up his tokens 
to the world. Yet remember, that these things are only 
4 4 the beginning of sorrows : " 44 evil men and seducers 
will yet wax worse and worse, deceiving and being 

* I must here refer the Header, who desires to see these 
signs more at large, together with other signs, and the references 
and authorities more particularly given, to my work published 
under the title of " Abdiel's Essays on the Advent and Kingdom 
of Christ," &c. 



IN THE STATE OF THE WORLD AT LARGE. 151 

deceived," and will bring on a day of far deeper gloomi- 
ness and darkness, than any that has yet been witnessed. 
Be not deceived then by temporary pauses in the howling 
of the winds, and muttering of the thunder ; — nor by 
gleams of seeming sunshine for the Church or world. 
Such things have always taken place in times of crisis, 
as if to lull the hypocrite and unbeliever into more fatal 
security. If Judah's lion be stirred up, though he seem 
to lie down again, yet is he only couching, and preparing 
to spring suddenly upon the prey. Be you then upon the 
watch, " that ye be not caught away with the error of 
the wicked ;" for these are times when all institutions, 
political and religious, are being shaken, — and all prin- 
ciples of individuals are being sifted, that the wheat 
may be separated from the tares. 

God is making manifest in various ways the hollowness 
of much even of that Evangelical profession, which has 
been made, both within and without the pale of the 
Established Church. Whilst the poor are tried by 
political demagogues and religious fanatics ;« — the more 
respectable classes have on the one hand a spurious 
liberalism before them, which would confound and 
destroy those things which God hath distinguished : and 
on the other hand they have a specious pharisaism, 
which affects more of strictness and order and sobriety ; 
but which in reality takes away what is heavenly and 
spiritual and powerful, and substitutes what is external, 
ceremonial, and dead ! " Take therefore unto you the 
whole armour of God, that ye may be enabled to with- 
stand in the evil day, and having done all to stand : " — 
the girdle of truth, — the breastplate of righteousness 
the shield of faith ; — the sword of the Spirit, which is 



152 SIGNS OF THE SECOND ADVENT, &C. 

the Word of God; — having the feet shod with the 
preparation of the Gospel of peace — the hlessed assurance 
of justification by faith without the works of the law; 
and having for a helmet the cheering hope of that 
salvation, which is ready to he revealed in the last time. 
Yes — the cheering and brightening hope of salvation : 
for though I distinguished only some few signs, as in 
themselves cheering, yet, when considered as the tokens 
of our Lord's approach, all are cheering : therefore he 
bids us, as in the text, " when we shall see these things 
only begin to come to pass, to lift up our heads, because 
our redemption draweth nigh." And if the beginnings 
of these things are calculated to inspire us with hope and 
joy, how much more their fulness ! Yes, those things 
which are dark and appalling to the world, — like the 
pillar and the cloud, — will be as light and brightness to 
the saints ; who, when all is roaring and raging and 
upheaving round about them, shall be ardently waiting 
for, but most surely expecting, and in the midst of it 
obtaining, deliverance from corruption, into the glorious — 
glorious liberty of the children of God. 



LECTURE VII. 



THE FIRST RESURRECTION. 



BY THE REV. T. R. BIRKS, M.A., 

FELLOW OF TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE. 



Rev. XX. 6. 

" Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first 
resurrection : on such the second death hath no 
power, hut they shall he priests of God and of 
Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.' 7 

The hope of the resurrection, even when embraced in 
its most general form, is a mighty triumph of faith over 
sight, and of the testimony of God over the senses and 
experience of man. Death, for six thousand years, has 
been the law of the natural universe. No wisdom of 
man could possibly assign a limit to its fearful dominion. 
He might, perhaps, by his own powers, attain a convic- 
tion that the soul is immortal : but that corruption and 
the worm should yield up their spoil, and myriads of 
immortal bodies, after ages of decay, should rise from 
the dust to rejoin the separated spirit, is a truth which 
far surpasses the range of his unaided reason. And 



154 



THE FIRST RESURRECTION. 



thus, from the first days of the Gospel until now, the 
natural man receiveth it not : the Athenian philosopher, 
and the debased African savage, alike reject the doctrine 
with mockery and scorn. 

Human science, indeed, amidst all its wonderful dis- 
coveries, has brought us no tidings of this victory over the 
grave. It has explored the immensity of the heavens ; 
but those starry spaces have disclosed to us no sounds 
of life, much less of a resurrection, and reveal none of 
their secrets but a vast and cheerless solitude. It has 
searched the depths of the earth for the relics of former 
ages ; but has found in them only the sepulchre of buried 
worlds, the trophies of death, and the memorials of 
destruction. He only, who stretched forth the heavens, 
and laid the foundations of the earth, could pierce through 
this dark veil, and bring life and immortality to light by 
the Gospel. He alone could proclaim that message of 
hope to perishing sinners : "I am the resurrection and 
the life ; he that believeth in me, though he were dead, 
yet shall he live ; and he that liveth and believeth in me 
shall never die." 

But the first resurrection offers a still severer trial to 
the faith of the Christian. We cannot here appeal to 
innumerable texts where it is plainly revealed : we can- 
not point to creeds, in which the Church from the begin- 
ning has with one voice borne witness to its truth. On 
this doctrine pious Christians have been, and are now, 
divided in their judgment. It is true that it was gene- 
rally believed in the first ages of the Church ; and 
novelty, at least, cannot be laid to its charge : but their 
authority seems more than balanced by the general 
disbelief of it in later times. The analogy of Scripture, 



THE FIRST RESURRECTION. 



155 



however decisive in its favour, appears at first sight 
obscure and ambiguous. In maintaining this doctrine, 
therefore, we have to rest only upon the Word of God, 
and chiefly on this one prophecy. Human authority 
stands aloof from the inquiry, and to the law and the 
testimony is our only possible appeal. 

But besides these hindrances to the reception of the 
doctrine, there is another, not less powerful, of a different 
kind. Truth, in its details, makes a far greater demand 
on our faith than when presented in a general form. 
The resurrection, as an abstract theory, may have a deep 
interest even for worldly men. Philosophers may love to 
speculate on its hidden laws ; while others, of a more 
imaginative temper, may be allured by its beauty. It 
may awaken in them a strange sense of awe and mystery, 
and exercise over them the fascination of some wild and 
fairy dream. But the doctrine of the first resurrection 
strips away from the whole subject this unreal character. 
It is no longer a lifeless theory, a plaything of the fancy : 
it stands out in bold relief as an historical fact, linked in 
with the chain of actual events, and with the whole course 
of Divine providence. It now becomes a solemn reality 
of eternal interest, which strikes on the unawakened con- 
science with intolerable power. And thus thousands, 
who repeat continually those words of the creed, almost 
without a thought, — " I believe in the resurrection of the 
body," — would start, perhaps, at the bare mention of the 
first resurrection as at some apparition from the dead. 

Why, then, should a doctrine, in appearance so dis- 
putable, and beset with such difficulties, be now pressed 
on the attention of the Church ? The answer is very 
plain. Grant for one moment that the doctrine is true, 



156 



THE FIRST RESURRECTION. 



and you must feel, my Christian brethren, that it is one 
of deep interest to ourselves. Its importance must be 
increasing every day, as the time draws nearer and 
nearer ; and the difficulties and prejudices which sur- 
round it are so many reasons why it should be clearly 
explained, and applied in its Divine power to the heart of 
every Christian. 

The present state of the world has convinced thoughtful 
observers that great changes are near at hand. Wars, 
almost unrivalled in vastness among civilized nations, 
have been followed by a deep pause ; as if some secret 
and invisible spell had been thrown over the angry 
passions of mankind. Society, after those convulsive 
struggles, has returned to a feverish and restless calm. 
Meanwhile, all events have worn the character of intense 
and earnest preparation. The inventions of science have 
crushed the world into half its space, and opened a rapid 
intercourse between the most distant countries. That 
power, which for ages was the scourge and terror of 
Christendom, has withered and wasted, till a breath 
seems enough to complete its ruin, and to set free the 
land of promise for its ancient occupiers. The Gospel 
has been preached, more widely than ever, among all 
nations. To make this remarkable sign of Providence 
more striking and impressive to the most careless minds, 
it has even joined the remotest islands of the ocean, as a 
fresh province, to our own empire. The Jews, long 
neglected or oppressed, are attracting the notice even of 
mere politicians, and the Holy Land, with its border 
countries, is becoming once more the thoroughfare and 
the battle-field of nations. 

At such a season, when all men are looking forward in 



THE FIRST RESURRECTION. 



157 



hope or in fear, surely the Christian is bound to search 
the Word of God, that he may discern the signs of the 
times. It is only by a knowledge of those things which are 
coming upon the earth, that our own hopes can be guided 
into the path of the Divine counsels. Now in the fore- 
front of those prospects, which the Word of God discloses 
to the Church, stands the promise of the first resurrec- 
tion ; and this lays us under a plain obligation to ascer- 
tain, simply and prayerfully, its true meaning. How 
grievous will be the folly and sin of a careless ignorance, 
if the time is indeed near when all the people of Christ 
shall enter into their inheritance, and, like Daniel, stand 
in their lot at the end of the days ! Do we desire to be 
found ourselves, however unworthy, among that holy 
company ? Then at least let us search the Scriptures, 
like the noble Bereans, whether these things are so ; and 
laying aside all prejudice, receive meekly and in reverence 
the testimony of God's holy Word. 

Let me entreat then, your serious and patient atten- 
tion, while I endeavour from these words, first, to prove 
the reality of the first resurrection as a literal fact ; 
secondly, to remove the most common objections to its 
truth ; and, lastly, to unfold its practical power, in some 
of those great lessons which it should fix deeply in our 
hearts. May the Holy Spirit, whose office it is to reveal 
things to come, raise us at this holy season to some lively 
apprehension of this blessed hope, that through the cross 
and the passion of our Lord, we may ourselves be brought 
to the glory of his resurrection ! 

I. The eternal contrast between faith and unbelief, the 
righteous and the wicked, meets us in every part of the 



158 



THE FIRST RESURRECTION. 



Word of God. This is the great truth, which all corrup- 
tions of the Gospel strive, in one way or other, to obscure, 
that the j may cheat the soul with some refuge of lies. 
But nowhere does it shine with a clearer light than 
in these prophecies of the resurrection. Three distinct 
forms of expression are used to impress it on our con- 
science. There is a resurrection of the just, and of the 
unjust ; a resurrection of life, and a resurrection of damna- 
tion : some shall rise to everlasting life, and others shall 
rise only to shame and everlasting contempt. 

The interval of time between these events, as it was 
less needful for us to know, is revealed more sparingly, 
and in fewer passages. There are, indeed, several inti- 
mations that such an interval does exist ; but its length 
is revealed in this chapter only. It is here taught us, 
in the plainest terms, that a thousand years will inter- 
vene between the resurrection of the saints and the final 
act of Divine judgment. 

That this doctrine is nowhere else stated so plainly, is 
no real presumption against its truth. The resurrection 
itself, for a long time, was very dimly revealed. Till our 
Lord had appeared in the flesh, and confirmed the truth in 
his own person, the Holy Spirit seems to have withheld a 
full disclosure of the great mystery. The vision, like 
that on the mount, was not to be unfolded till the Son of 
man was risen from the dead ; and even then, the moral 
features of the judgment, and the awful contrast of 
reward and punishment, were far more important to the 
Church than details of manner or of time. It was 
enough that one clear statement should be given, before 
the inspired Volume was closed, which might serve for a 



THE FIRST RESURRECTION. 



159 



key to all the other prophecies, and brighten into fuller 
and fuller evidence when the time of the fulfilment should 
he drawing near. 

Now such is the exact character of this important text. 
Its own language is clear, full, and unambiguous. The 
truth which it reveals unites and reconciles many pro- 
phecies which must otherwise be explained away, or left in 
hopeless contradiction. It is founded on the earliest of 
all the types in the Word of God ; it blends into harmony 
the promises of the Old and of the New Testament, 
which else would seem to be at variance ; and, in short, 
it forms a sacred key- stone in the glorious arch of Divine 
providence. 

But since the literal meaning of these verses has often 
been set aside with contempt, as a gross and carnal fancy, 
let us examine the words more narrowly, and consider 
some of those arguments which fix its true signification. 

1. First of all, the previous events, described in the 
former chapter, prove that a real and personal resurrection 
is the true object of the vision. 

From the first opening of the Apocalypse, one great 
event is set before the eye of the Church, « — the Second 
Coming of our Lord. This truth stands foremost in the 
prophecy, — " Behold, he cometh with clouds, and every 
eye shall see him." It is repeated by our Lord himself, 
in nearly all the seven epistles, as the motive to watchful- 
ness and holy obedience. Towards the close of the book, 
under the sixth vial, the warning is repeated once more : 
" Behold, I come as a thief : blessed is he that waketh 
and keepeth his garments." The whole current of the 
prophecy seems to converge on this great event. After 
its visions are complete, the Spirit and the bride echo the 



160 



THE FIRST RESURRECTION". 



voice of invitation ; and the Saviour himself renews the 
message : " He which testifieth these things saith, Surely 
I come quickly. Amen, even so come, Lord Jesus." 

Now where, in the course of the visions, is this advent 
described, since it is quite incredible that it should be 
passed over in silence ? The question admits only of one 
answer. In the nineteenth chapter, and there only, we 
have a full description of this great event. Heaven is 
opened, and the mighty conqueror appears. His name is 
called the Word of God. The heavenly armies are seen 
attending Him in his descent from the skies. He wears 
on his brow the diadems of earthly dominion, so long 
usurped by the dragon, but which are now reclaimed by 
Him whose right they are. He rules the nations with a 
rod of iron, and all enemies are subdued before Him. 
On his vesture and his thigh he wears that incommuni- 
cable name, the token of his supreme dominion, " King 
of kings, and Lord of lords." 

In this sublime description every main feature of the 
second advent is prominently combined. The following 
chapters, on the other hand, have not one word' which can 
properly denote the coming of the Lord from heaven. Let 
us only compare the silence of the one passage with the 
full description in the other, and it will be plain that the 
vision before our text is the true place, in this prophecy, 
of the second advent. 

Now, throughout all Scripture, the coming of the Lord 
is joined, in the closest manner, with the real resurrection 
of his people. The statement of our text, in its literal 
sense, is thus in full harmony with the uniform voice 
of revelation. AYhen the Lord has executed judgments 
on his enemies, the happiness of his servants is announced 



THE FIRST RESURRECTION. 



161 



in the gracious promise, " Blessed and holy is lie that 
hath part in the first resurrection." 

To deny that a literal prediction is here given, is 
therefore to distort the words of a plain text, in order to 
force them into discordance with every other part of 
Scripture. A resurrection, all Christians must allow, 
attends without an interval the coming of the Lord : but 
if the passage before us were a mere figure, a thousand 
years must elapse after the Advent, before the people of 
Christ are raised from the dead and enter on their glorious 
inheritance. 

The only escape from this argument is, to make the 
Advent in the previous chapter a mere figure also, and to 
suppose a real Advent in some later part, where the 
prophecy is totally silent concerning such an event. But 
what an unwarrantable license is here ! Are we then at 
liberty to explain away the strongest terms which can 
describe a personal Advent, the opening of heaven, the 
descent to earth, the company of attendant saints, the 
crowns of dominion, and the incommunicable name, and to 
turn the Lord of glory himself into a symbol and a 
figure ? And not content with this, shall we also inter- 
polate boldly a descent of Christ from heaven with all 
his saints, where the prophecy maintains an unbroken 
silence ? What is this but to bring ourselves, by one 
error, to the brink of a double curse, the curse on those 
who add, and on those who take away from the words of 
this prophecy ? Contrast only the silence at the close of 
the twentieth chapter on this subject with the sublime 
description of the marriage supper of the Lamb ; and 
surely every candid mind must see that this first argu- 

M 



162 



THE FIRST RESURRECTION. 



ment rests on a sure basis, which can never be over- 
thrown. 

The first resurrection, it thus appears, does not precede, 
but attends or follows the personal Advent of the Saviour. 
And hence to turn it into a metaphor not only strains the 
words from their natural meaning, but contradicts the 
uniform testimony of God's Word, which always connects 
a real resurrection with the day of the Lord's appearing. 

2. The subjects of this resurrection form a second 
proof of its literal character. " I saw thrones, and they 
sat on them ; and judgment was given unto them." 

Who are these whom the prophet now beholds on the 
seats of judgment ? The context supplies us with an 
answer. St. John, in the former chapter, has already 
heard the loud voices in heaven, saying, " The marriage 
of the Lamb is come, and his bride hath made herself 
ready." "And to her it was given that she should be 
arrayed in fine linen, white and clean ; for the fine linen 
is the righteousness of the saints." The angel addresses 
to him the further charge' — " Write, Blessed are they 
which are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb." 
Heaven is then opened. The Word of God appears in all 
his Divine majesty. 6 ' And the armies which were in 
heaven followed Him, clothed in fine linen, white and 
clean." The enemies of the Lord are overthrown, and 
Satan, the old serpent, is bound in the bottomless pit. 
Then the prophet resumes with these words — " I saw 
thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given 
to them, . . . and they lived and reigned with Christ." 
Who can be meant but the heavenly armies who were 
already present in the vision, the followers of the Lamb, 



THE FIRST RESURRECTION. 



163 



called, and chosen, and faithful ? These are the mystic 
bride, the Lamb's wife. These are the honoured guests 
who are called to the marriage supper. Their life, 
which had been hid with Christ in God, is now openly 
manifested in the sight of the world. The song which 
they uttered long before is now fulfilled — " Thou hast 
made us unto our God kings and priests, and we shall 
reign on the earth." And since it is from heaven that 
they come to reign, the words must clearly denote a real, 
and not a figurative resurrection. 

The persons, then, who appear in vision on the thrones 
of judgment, are the same with the armies clad in fine 
linen, who have followed the Lamb. But may not these 
be a mere symbol to denote other servants of God who 
shall at that time be honourable and blessed upon earth ? 
This seems to be the view of nearly all who advocate a 
figurative resurrection. So the dry bones in the vision of 
Ezekiel were a figure of the house of Israel, and their 
resurrection an emblem of Israel's restoration. So the 
apostle declares, that the receiving of Israel shall be as 
life from the dead. The resurrection of the two witnesses 
in the Apocalypse is thought to confirm this view, since it 
is generally applied by modern interpreters to some 
political revival of the Church of God. 

These reasons, however, entirely fail on a close ex- 
amination. The nature of symbols is to express real 
objects by ideal forms, or those which are higher and 
more spiritual by real objects of an inferior kind. The 
valley of dry bones was no actual reality ; it was an 
imaginary object before the eye of the prophet. The 
words of St. Paul in the eleventh of Romans, if turned 
into a vision, would be of the same kind : the resurrection 

M 2 



164 



THE FIRST RESURRECTION. 



of some unreal corpse would symbolize the restoration of 
Israel. 

The same truth appears just as plainly in the prophecy 
of the two witnesses. All who believe them to be literal 
persons maintain also their literal resurrection. On the 
other hand, all who regard their resurrection as figurative 
believe the witnesses themselves to be no real persons, 
but a figure or emblem, like the seven candlesticks in the 
opening vision. 

The parallel, then, in each instance, entirely fails. In 
the prophecy of our text, the armies of heaven, the mar- 
tyrs of Christ, are living and real persons. If the resur- 
rection were figurative, persons would be symbolized by 
other persons equally real with themselves, and even 
superior in dignity. Now this violates the nature and use 
of a symbol, and involves us in hopeless confusion. That 
saints descending from heaven should denote other holy 
men, born and sojourning on earth, is a fiction without 
any warrant. Those heavenly armies are not, and from 
their nature, cannot be mere sjnubols ; they are among 
the highest realities of the Word of God. And since it 
is these armies who sit on the thrones, and are partakers 
of the first resurrection, the proof is clear and firm, that 
a bodily resurrection is the true object of the vision. 

3. The office assigned to these risen saints is 
again a third argument for the literal meaning. " They 
sat on thrones, and judgment was given to them." 

These words have a clear and definite sense. They 
are no vague description of peace and prosperity in the 
Church or the world. They are terms of royalty and 
dominion. The truth implied both in the emblem of 
thrones and in the literal phrase of judgment is one and 



THE FIRST RESURRECTION. 



165 



the same. The prophecy exhibits to us a dispensation of 
righteous government ; and its features are those of 
judicial power and kingly exaltation. 

The event thus announced agrees with many other pro- 
mises given to the servants of Christ. Our Lord himself 
declared to his apostles — " I appoint unto you a kingdom, 
as my Father hath appointed unto me . . . that ye may 
sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." 
A similar statement occurs in Isaiah, at the overthrow of 
the last oppressor of the Church — ' ' Behold, a king shall 
reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judg- 
ment." (Is. xxxii. 1.) Our Lord repeats the promise in 
this very book, and extends it to the whole Church in that 
gracious declaration — " To him that overcometh will I 
give to sit with me on my throne, even as I also overcame, 
and am set down with my Father on his throne." 

Compare these and similar promises with the words of 
this vision, and there vail be found the most complete 
harmony. They all describe a Royal dominion to be 
given to the people of Christ. The words of St. John 
seem to be an echo of those uttered by our Lord at the 
last supper, when this beloved disciple was actually lean- 
ing on his breast. And therefore since the twelve 
apostles are among the objects of the vision, and of the 
number who sit on thrones of judgment, the event can be 
no mere figure, but must be a true and literal resurrection. 

4. The mention of the souls of the martyrs is a 
further confirmation of the same truth. No single ex- 
pression has been so frequently alleged in disproof of the 
literal exposition ; yet none perhaps, when closely 
examined, yields a stronger testimony in its favour. 

The common objection is of this kind. St. John 



166 



THE FIRST RESURRECTION. 



describes a resurrection of the souls of the martyrs. But 
this phrase cannot naturally denote a resurrection of 
bodies. It seems rather to imply a spiritual resurrection, 
by which the martyrs shall figuratively re-appear in suc- 
cessors animated with the same spirit of faith and holiness. 

Xow, in this argument there are two fatal defects. 
The apostle does not affirm a resurrection of souls ; nor 
does the word soul admit of such a vicarious or figurative 
meaning. 

Three terms are used in Scripture to describe the 
mysterious nature of man. They are all seen combined 
in that beautiful prayer of St. Paul for the Thessalonians, 
" I pray God your whole spirit, and soul, and body may 
be preserved blameless unto the coming of the Lord 
Jesus." 

"Wherever in the Word of God federal or collective 
acts are to be described, the word spirit is employed for 
that purpose. Is the union of the believer with Christ to 
be unfolded ? " He that is joined to the Lord is one 
spirit." Has the Baptist to fulfil the same office with 
Elijah, and to represent his person, just as the millennial 
saints have been supposed to replace the martyrs ? 
" He shall go before the Lord," it is said, "in the spirit 
and power of Elias." Is the unity of the spiritual life to 
be described with its blessed fruits in all true Christians ? 
The word appears again in that statement — " The mind- 
ing of the spirit is fife and peace." Or if the same unity 
is exhibited between two individuals only, as Paul and 
Titus, we have still the same expression — " Walked we 
not in the same spirit ? " So again, to express the union 
of the whole Church, the same term is twice employed. 
" There is one body and one spirit, even as ye were 



THE FIRST RESURRECTION. 



167 



called in one hope of jour calling." " Ye are all bap- 
tized into one body, and bave all been made to drink of 
one spirit." 

On the otber band, tbe word soul is used, with equal 
uniformity, to denote what is strictly personal, and not 
capable of a vicarious transfer. Where personal guilt or 
faithfulness, reward or punishment, or moral accountable- 
ness, are described, or even individual number only, this 
is the term which the Holy Spirit employs. " He that 
findeth his life (or soul) shall lose it ; and he that loseth 
his life for my sake shall find it." ' ' What shall it profit 
a man if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul ; 
or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul ?" "A 
sword shall pierce through thine own soul also." ' ' This 
night thy soul shall be required of thee." 6 6 Tribulation 
and anguish shall be upon every soul of man that doeth 
evil." " He which converteth a sinner from the error of 
his ways shall save a soul from death," 

In the same strictly personal sense, we read, that 
"three thousand souls were added to the Church ;" and 
that in the ark, 4 ' few, that is, eight souls were saved by 
water." With these various texts of the New Testament 
we may compare the words of Ezekiel, in a passage 
where the doctrine of personal accountableness is stated 
perhaps more fully than in any other part of Scripture, 
" All souls are mine ; as the soul of the father, so the 
soul of the son is mine ; the soul that sinneth, it shall 
die." (Ezek. xviii. 4.) 

These facts throw a steady light on the true meaning 
of this prophecy. St. John tells us, that the souls of the 
martyrs lived and reigned with Christ. That one word, 
when compared with other Scriptures, turns our thoughts 



168 



THE FIRST RESURRECTION. 



away from all those federal relations "by which Christians 
of one age might represent those of another. It fixes our 
attention at once on that strictly personal account, in 
which every one shall hear his own harden, and receive 
according to his own deeds. The message of God hy 
Ezekiel applies here in all its impressive force. The soul 
that suffers with Christ, it shall reign with Him. The 
martyrs shall not suffer and ohey for the saints of the 
Millennium, nor shall the millennial saints reign instead 
of the martyrs. 

But further, the vision does not mention a resurrection 
of souls, as is often carelessly assumed. The souls of 
the martyrs are said to live, but not to rise again. Now, 
in the language of Scripture, the life of the spirit consists 
in union with God, but the life of the soul in union with 
the body. Thus our Lord is said to have poured out his 
soul unto death at the moment when he commended his 
spirit to his Heavenly Father. To declare, then, of the 
souls of the martyrs that they lived, has exactly the same 
force as to say they were re-united to their bodies, and 
implies the further truth, that those bodies also were 
raised from the dead. And so the prophet expounds it 
by the words which immediately follow, " This is the first 
resurrection. 

But this view will be further established by comparing 
the words of the text with the vision of the fifth seal. 
We have there the following description :■ — " I saw under 
the altar the souls of them which were slain for the Word 
of God, and the testimony which they held ; and they 
cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, 0 Lord, holy 
and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on 
them which dwell on the earth. And white robes were 



THE FIRST RESURRECTION. 



169 



given unto every one of them ; and it was told them that 
they should rest yet for a season, until their fellow-servants 
also and their brethren, which should be killed as they 
were, were fulfilled." The two passages form a moral 
contrast ; in the first the martyrs cry unto God for de- 
liverance, and in the second they receive a full answer 
to their prayer. 

Now the vision of the souls under the altar bears 
throughout a character strictly personal. By what title 
do they appeal to God ? They employ an unusual term, 
6 Aeo-Trorrjs, which describes Him as the sovereign owner 
of individual persons. They appeal to Him as holy and 
true, in his promises to the righteous and threatenings to 
the wicked, and their faithful execution. They call upon 
Him as the avenger of oppression and the rewarder of his 
suffering people. Their prayers are not undefined wishes 
for some general blessings to the Church, but a plea with 
God for the exercise of judicial righteousness. They are 
commanded to rest for a season, till the number of their 
fellow- servants is complete. And this clearly conveys a 
promise that their desire shall then be accomplished, and 
the noble army of martyrs receive together a common 
recompence of reward. 

Such is the prayer of these martyrs, and such the 
promise which they receive. Our text shows us their 
prayer answered, and the promise fulfilled. The number 
of their brethren is at length completed ; and the Lord, 
who is holy and true, manifests both his truth and his 
holiness. Babylon, in which the blood of the saints is 
found, is judged and overthrown ; the persecutors are 
slain ; and the souls which had cried for vengeance from 
the altar live and reign with their Lord. And what 



170 



THE FIRST RESURRECTION. 



metaphor can have a right to step in between the mar- 
tyrs' prayer and its recorded answer ? Why should we 
dream of transferring to others, who have never suffered, 
that Divine recompence which has been promised, long 
before, to the sufferers themselves ? 

5. Another argument of the same kind may be drawn 
from the mention of the confessors. For though all 
the armies in heaven, or the whole Church of the first- 
born, and they who fear God, both small and great, are 
included in the promise, the martyrs and confessors stand 
prominent in the vision. To encourage Christians to a 
bold confession of the faith in times of peril there is a 
separate notice of those " who had not worshipped the 
beast or his image, nor received his mark on their fore- 
head or on their hands." 

Let us compare these words with the solemn warning 
in Rev. xiv. The third angel there proclaims with a 
loud voice, " If any man worship the beast and his image, 
and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, 
the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, 
which is poured out without mixture into the cup of 
his indignation. . . . And the smoke of their torment 
ascendeth up for ever and ever." (Rev. xiv. 9 — 11.) 

Here, again, the two passages stand in evident contrast. 
Two opposite classes are presented to us ; those who 
worship the beast, and those who worship him not. The 
former receive a most fearful threatening, the latter are 
seen in the enjoyment of a glorious promise. 

Now the threatening, as every one will own, must be 
personally fulfilled. Who would venture to turn aside 
the keen edge of this sword of the Spirit ? Who would 
dare to affirm that the warning of the angel has no fulfil- 



THE FIRST RESURRECTION. 



171 



ment in the actual worshippers of the beast, but describes 
something in which those worshippers have no part, or 
the miserable state of the world at the loosing of Satan ? 
Such glosses could serve no end, but to abolish the faith 
of Christians in the connexion between present sin and 
future punishment. Every one must feel how dangerous 
it would be to tamper in this manner with the most solemn 
threatenings of God. 

But if such a license is intolerable when applied to the 
threatening, why should it be more credible, or more safe, 
in the exposition of the promise ? The language in each 
case is exactly similar. The warning of the angel will 
assuredly be fulfilled in personal judgment on the wor- 
shippers of the beast ; and those who have refused to 
worship shall, therefore, in their own persons, be partakers 
of this glorious reward. 

6. The resurrection of the rest of the dead 
forms a sixth proof that the first resurrection is a literal 
event. " They lived and reigned with Christ a thousand 
years : but the rest of the dead lived not again till the 
thousand years were finished." 

No proof can well be more decisive than is contained 
in these words. The first resurrection, and that of the 
rest of the dead, must be of the same kind. Now of 
what nature is this last ? The prophecy gives a distinct 
reply. After the close of the thousand years we have 
this impressive description. 

" And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before 
God ; and the books were opened ; and another book was 
opened, which is the book of life ; and the dead were 
judged out of those things which were written in the 



172 



THE FIRST RESURRECTION. 



books, according to their works. And the sea gave up 
the dead which were in it ; and death and hell gave up 
the dead which were in them ; and they were judged 
every man according to their works. And death and 
hell were cast into the lake of fire : this is the second 
death." * 

These words answer, in all respects, to the predicted 
resurrection of the rest of the dead. And since all allow 
that they describe a bodily resurrection, the first resur- 
rection, also, must be of the same kind. The only way 
to avoid this conclusion is by embracing the strange 
theory, that the last confederacy of apostates is that second 
revival of which the prophet here speaks. 

But, surely, of all the distortions which Scripture has 
been made to endure, this is one of the most violent. 
The prediction announces a resurrection of the rest of the 
dead. Two events follow, entirely opposite in their 
nature. The objects of the first are nations living in the 
four corners of the earth ; those of the second, are four 
times described emphatically as the dead. The first has 
no title given to it ; the other is called, in plain contrast 
to the first resurrection, the second death. The first is 
an act of mad rebellion on the part of man ; the second 
is, like the first resurrection, a signal manifestation of the 
power and holiness of God. To transfer to the former of 
these events, characters which so plainly belong only to 
the latter, is to contradict the Scriptures, and not to 
explain them. 

There are other objections, however, not less decisive. 
Let us grant, for one moment, that both resurrections 
are figurative, and denote a revival of eminent holiness, 



THE FIRST RESURRECTION. 



173 



and another, equally conspicuous, of rebellion and wicked- 
ness. .And what conclusion will follow ? Before the 
resurrection of the martyrs, neither of these parties will 
have risen. So that in the previous state of the Church, 
holiness and unholiness must have been extinct together ; 
truth and righteousness, sin and wickedness, must have 
vanished together ; and heaven and hell, at one and the 
same time, have ceased their empire upon earth. 

Again, if we examine the connexion in which these 
words appear, how strained and unnatural do they become 
on the figurative interpretation. " I witnessed," the 
prophet will then say to us, 6 6 an eminent revival of 
holiness, but there was not, till long after, an eminent 
revival of wickedness ! The Church on earth was con- 
spicuously holy ; but it was not conspicuously unholy at 
the same time ! " Surely it is far better to submit our 
prejudices to the plain words of the vision, than to force 
them, by the harshest violence, into so feeble and 
unnatural a meaning. 

The suggested explanation, therefore, by whatever test 
it is examined, is equally baseless. It contradicts the 
clearest features of contrast between the apostasy and 
the judgment ; it deprives the terms of connexion in the 
verse, of all their force, and makes them worse than 
superfluous ; and it involves consequences plainly absurd 
with regard to the previous state of the world. There- 
fore, since the rising of the rest of the dead is proved to 
be a literal event, the first resurrection must be literal 
also. 

Further arguments for the same truth might be drawn, 
if needful, from each remaining clause of the vision. It 
might be shown, for instance, that the two statements, 



174 



THE FIRST RESURRECTION. 



" this is tlie first resurrection," " this is the second 
death," are a designed and evident contrast ; and that 
since the latter describes the final doom of the wicked, 
the former must equally describe the resurrection glory 
of the righteous. It might be proved, again, that the 
expression, to have a part, is constantly used for a 
personal and individual allotment of reward or punish- 
ment, and is especially employed thus in the remainder 
of this same prophecy. Again, the peculiar privilege, to 
he free from the power of the second death, loses all 
distinctive force when applied to living saints in the 
Millennium, but recovers its full emphasis by the literal 
interpretation. The royal priesthood, ascribed to these 
risen saints, confirms the same doctrine, since it refers 
us to that song which they had before uttered in the 
presence of the Saviour, " Thou hast made us unto our 
God kings and priests, and we shall reign upon the 
earth." 

These various proofs, drawn from every clause of the 
vision itself, are confirmed by many allusions in other 
Scriptures. I will notice three only, from the three main 
passages in which St. Paul treats of the resurrection. 

In the first of these, the apostle comforts the Thessa- 
lonians under the loss of their departed friends. He 
declares, by express revelation, that the rising of the 
dead saints will be previous to the translation of those 
who still remain alive. But, in this previous resurrec- 
tion, there is no allusion whatever to the rising of the 
wicked. Nay, the scope of his argument seems to 
exclude it. The topic of consolation which he suggests 
is one of priority in time. "We who are alive," he 
says, "shall not be beforehand with them that sleep." 



THE FIRST RESURRECTION. 



175 



But if the unfaithful dead were also raised before the 
translation of the living, a jar and discord seems to enter 
into the tender harmony of this Divine message. Surely, 
in that case, some other topic than the order of time 
would have been chosen by the apostle, as the watchword 
of consolation. But, once admit the doctrine of the first 
resurrection, and the harmony is restored. The same 
precedence which marks the solemn contrast between 
them that are saved, and them that perish, is then 
repeated on a smaller scale, in the precedence of the 
departed saints over living believers. 

In the fifteenth of Corinthians, again, the same truth 
is still more clearly implied. "Everyman," it is said, 
" shall rise in his own order ; Christ the first-fruits ; 
afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. Then 
cometh the end." The original word, in each of the 
two clauses, equally denotes succession in order of time. 
In the former case, the interval is more than 1800 years, 
between the resurrection of our Lord, and that of his 
people. A similar interval is naturally implied between 
their resurrection, and the end ; when death, the last 
enemy, shall be destroyed and cast into the lake of fire, 
and the kingdom shall be resigned to the Father. 

In the still later Epistle to the Philippians, there is a 
further allusion to the same truth. The apostle there 
sums up the expression of his desires in these remark- 
able words, "If by any means I may attain unto the 
resurrection from the dead." The word is a compound, 
which occurs here only, and might be rendered, " the 
peculiar resurrection." The emphasis is even redoubled, 
" the peculiar resurrection, even that from among the 
dead." This might, in itself, be referred to the 



176 



THE FIRST RESURRECTION. 



momentous difference in the nature of the resurrection 
which he sought. But the context points strongly to the 
further meaning of a precedence in point of time. The 
Messing is metaphorically described as journeying towards 
the Church. Those who press forward with earnest 
desire to attain it, meet the heavenly gift on its way ; 
while, as for others, it passes them by, and leaves them 
to the prospect of the widely different resurrection then 
to follow. The more closely the passage is examined, 
the more close and full will appear its harmony with the 
literal sense of the present vision. 

Finally, the whole analogy of the word of prophecy in 
the Old and Xew Testament, confirms and establishes 
the same doctrine. The prophecies of the Old Testa- 
ment teach us, in numberless passages, that a time is 
coming of happiness, holiness, and peace to the whole 
earth, under the kingdom of Messiah. The Xew Testa- 
ment, with equal uniformity, declares that the affliction 
of the Chmch, and the abounding of iniquity, will not 
cease till the return of the Saviour. The doctrine of the 
first resurrection alone can reconcile these contrasted 
statements ; and is therefore founded, in reality, on the 
consenting testimony of the whole Word of God. 

II. Let us now consider, secondly, the chief objections 
which have been urged against the doctrine. There are 
many which arise merely from a misconception of its 
nature, and which need not detain us. I will now confine 
myself to four of the most important or popular, and two 
of these will require only a passing notice. 

1. And, first, it is alleged that, unless this resurrec- 
tion be figurative, it is an exception to the general 
character of the Apocalypse, from its beginning to its 



THE FIRST RESURRECTION. 



177 



close. The vision of the previous chapter, it is said, is 
clearly .symbolic ; the dragon, the chain, and the seal, 
are all symbols ; and therefore the resurrection must be 
figurative also. 

But this plausible argument has several fatal defects. 
First, symbolic prophecies have literal statements inter- 
spersed, which serve for a key to the rest. Such is the 
voice of the Spirit over the departed faithful, " Write, 
Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord, from hence- 
forth. Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from 
their labours, and their works do follow them." And 
such, exactly, is the message in the words of our text — 
" Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first 
resurrection." We might, with as much reason, rob 
the departed of those words of Divine comfort, as con- 
vert this promise of the first resurrection into a mere 
figure. 

Next, even the symbolic parts of a vision have a mixed 
character. When real persons, the highest in their kind, 
are mentioned by their proper titles, there is no room for 
symbols ; the objects represent themselves. God, and 
Christ, and the good angels, Satan, and evil spirits, and 
redeemed saints on earth or in heaven, are never 
emblems. Forsake this maxim, and symbolic prophecy 
becomes a chaos, in which nothing is fixed, and where 
fancy runs riot in its own excesses. 

So it is in the passages before us. The Word of 
God, and the armies in heaven, are not symbols, but 
realities. But the sword, the wine-press, the rod of 
iron, the fine linen, and the diadems, are imagery by 
which the nature of these real personages is more fully 

N 



178 



THE FIRST RESURRECTION. 



displayed. Satan, who is bound, is a real person, the 
fallen archangel. But the dragon-form, the chain, and 
the seal, are all emblems, which denote a real and 
effectual restraint upon all his works of darkness. The 
symbols, in each case, cluster around a literal statement, 
on which they all depend. And so, too, with the first 
resurrection. Those who partake in it are real, definite 
persons, the armies of heaven, the martyrs and con- 
fessors of Christ. But the thrones are an emblem to 
describe their kingly dignity and honour ; while the 
words, " they lived and reigned with Christ," are a 
plain and literal description of their high reward. 

Finally, the symbols which do exist have their proper 
and distinct meaning. And here is a third error of the 
figurative exposition. It not only turns real objects into 
symbols, but the one symbol which does occur, is dis- 
torted from its proper sense. Thrones are never used to 
denote either holiness, or self-government, or peace and 
prosperity in general. They are the emblems of royal 
dominion. The description thus answers, in all respects, 
to the words of St. Paul, when he describes the resur- 
rection-dignity of Christ's followers, "Do ye not know 
that the saints shall judge the world ? Do ye not know 
that we shall judge angels ? " 

2. A second objection to the literal sense of the vision 
has been found, in the great apostasy at the close of the 
Millennium. Can it be possible, it is asked, that after 
such a glorious manifestation of Christ and his people, 
wickedness should ever prevail again, and need a fresh 
exercise of Divine power, to rescue the Church, and 
overthrow her enemies ? Whatever were the hardness of 



THE FIRST RESURRECTION. 



179 



the heart, incredulity, it is asserted, would be impossible, 
when the senses had been overpowered by such a display 
of visible majesty. 

But, surely, a deeper reflection of the ways of Provi- 
dence will make us discard at once such dangerous 
reasonings. Who are we, that we should pretend to 
fathom the deceitfulness of the heart, which God himself 
has pronounced unsearchable ? What have we seen in 
every past stage of the world's history, but unexpected 
proofs of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, and fresh 
triumphs of Divine power and goodness ? Who could 
have thought that the Jews, after tenfold miracles, could 
have rebelled so often in the wilderness ; or that with 
the pillar of cloud and fire ever before them, they could 
have worshipped the molten calf at the very foot of the 
mount of glory ? What saint, under the Old Testament, 
could have supposed that a thousand years after Messiah 
had come, the world would still be drowned in idolatry 
and superstition ? Which of them could have dreamed, 
that near two thousand years after the Son of God 
himself had become incarnate for man's salvation, a 
whole nation of his worshippers should turn open Atheists, 
and bid blasphemous defiance to the Lord of heaven ? 
Yet such things have happened almost in our own day. 
And shall we still assign fancied bounds and limits to 
human perverseness, or think that signs and wonders 
must needs accomplish at once what has never yet been 
effected by the Gospel of Christ and the dying agonies of 
the Son of God ? Surely we ought rather, with Job, to 
lay our hand upon our mouth, and to exclaim with the 
apostle, " How unsearchable are his judgments ; and his 
ways past finding out ! " 

n 2 



180 



THE FIRST RESURRECTION. 



The two remaining objections, one doctrinal and the 
other practical, are of a still more serious kind. The 
first resurrection, it is asserted, contradicts the general 
tenour of those texts which relate to the resurrection ; 
and is Judaizing and carnal in its own nature, dis- 
honourable to the Saviour, and degrading the hopes of 
the Christian. 

3. The former of these has been urged with much 
confidence in a recent work. " Never," it is said, " was 
there an hypothesis encumbered by such innumerable 
difficiilties of principle and detail. Scripture, in very 
numerous passages, describes the reward of the righteous 
and wicked as simultaneous in texts which, beyond dis- 
pute, refer to the second coming." Twelve such passages 
are then adduced. " This enormous weight of evidence, 
it is affirmed, can be escaped only by viewing the thou- 
sand years as one day of judgment." And this is 
thought to be inconsistent with the final apostasy, and to 
require the mention not of one, but of two resurrections. 

This objection seems to admit of the clearest reply by 
considering its parts in the reverse order. 

And, first, the Scripture does speak of two resurrec- 
tions, the resurrection of life and that of damnation ; the 
first resurrection, or the peculiar resurrection from among 
the dead, and the second death, which is a resurrection 
also. It is true that it is spoken of more frequently 
without the express separation being made. But so also 
is the coming of the Lord spoken of in the Old Testa- 
ment, when both advents were still future. 

Next, that the Millennium is indeed one great day of 
judgment, is a simple conclusion from the words of St. 
Peter — " One day with the Lord is as a thousand years, 



THE FIRST RESURRECTION. 



181 



and a thousand years as one day." It is also confirmed 
by the analogy of the day of grace and salvation, which 
has now lasted through eighteen centuries. There is 
nothing whatever in the last apostasy to contradict this 
view. Wonderful forbearance in the midst of vengeance 
has always been a most conspicuous character of the 
Divine judgments. 

Let us now examine briefly in detail this fancied weight 
of opposing evidence. One passage adduced is 1 Cor. 
xv. 26 — 54. But the statements of the apostle in this 
chapter, as we have seen already, establish the fact of an 
interval between the two resurrections. In the second 
Epistle to the Thessalonians we are told, that the Lord 
will be revealed in flaming fire to take vengeance on them 
that know not God, at the same time with the deliverance 
of His people. But here, also, the whole context is a 
demonstrative proof that the advent precedes the Mil- 
lennium ; and, by direct consequence, refutes the figurative 
resurrection. The hour mentioned in John v. 28, wherein 
all that are in the graves shall come forth, is made a 
third argument. Yet this precisely answers to the hour 
or season named in the twenty-fifth verse, which denotes 
the whole time of the Gospel, or a season of at least 
eighteen hundred years. The declaration in Dan. xii. 2, 
of the many sleepers in the dust who shall awake, is a 
fourth passage adduced. But this, however obscure in 
some respects, is clearly in favour of the doctrine. The 
lesson which it teaches most plainly is, that a literal 
resurrection attends the deliverance of the Jews, and 
therefore precedes the Millennium. 

, Four other passages which are brought forward are 
entirely neutral and equally consistent with either view. 



182 



THE FIRST RESURRECTION. 



Such are the declarations of St. Paul, that we must all 
appear at the judgment-seat of Christ ; and that God 
hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world in 
righteousness. And such, again, are the two parables of 
the ten talents and the wedding feast. 

There remain, then, only four texts that can, even in 
appearance, he alleged against the doctrine. These are 
the two parables of the tares, and the net cast into the 
sea ; the declaration at the close of Matt. xvi. ; and the 
parable of the sheep and the goats, or description of the 
last judgment. None of these reveal to us an interval 
between the sentence on the righteous and the wicked. 

How then shall we reconcile these words of our Lord 
with his own true saying, revealed to the beloved 
disciple ? By one simple maxim, which runs through all 
the inspired predictions. That maxim may be styled the 
law of sacred perspective. It is in prophecy as it is in 
the natural landscape. Events, while remote, are grouped 
together on the far horizon, catch the gleam of the same 
distant sunlight, and are blended in one common vision 
of glory or judgment. This law of prophetic revelation 
is most of all conspicuous in short statements of Scripture, 
or in parables which have chiefly a moral purpose. So, 
in the passages before us, the grand object was to 
impress the conscience with the unutterable contrast 
between the doom of the righteous and the wicked. 
And since the nearest of those events was still distant 
nearly two thousand years, it is not surprising that, in 
this first book of the New Testament, they should be 
grouped in one simple contrast of unspeakable solemnity 
and power.* 

* Note A. 



THE FIRST RESURRECTION. 



183 



Let us compare the first promise in the garden of 
Eclen — " He shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise 
his heel." How and when was this promise fulfilled? 
You will answer, in the cross and passion of our Lord, 
Then, in that hour of darkness, the malice of hell was 
wreaked on the Son of the Virgin, and principalities and 
powers were spoiled and led captive by the Son of God. 
But was the prophecy then exhausted ? Why then does 
St. Paul renew the promise in those words, " The God 
of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly?" 
Why does St. John, in this book, describe the enemy as 
cast down from heaven, sealed in the pit, and cast into 
the lake of fire ? Plainly because in that first promise 
the work of both advents is blended together, as one 
mighty and consummated victory over the prince of dark- 
ness. Now, if the long course of events which range 
through three thousand years are thus united in the 
earliest promise, it cannot be strange that the same 
principle should reappear in these impressive descriptions 
of the final judgment. 

The strongest evidence, therefore, which can be brought 
against the doctrine by its ablest adversaries is in part 
neutral, in part may be reconciled with it by a maxim of 
uniform application on the sacred prophecies, and in part 
confirms the very truth which it is alleged to disprove. 

4. But the first resurrection, it is further objected, is a 
Jewish and carnal doctrine. This vague impression, 
which exists in the minds of many Christians, has more 
weight than any distinct arguments. It had its birth, 
they imagine, in the false expectation of a temporal 
Messiah, and still bears the marks of its unworthy 
parentage. It is, in their view, a gross conceit of 



184 



THE FIRST RESURRECTION. 



unspiritual minds. It reverses the order of the dispen- 
sations, and turns us back to weak and beggarly elements. 
That the saints should have an earthly dominion, and 
reign here below, gives an opening to carnal fancies, 
obscures the spiritual nature of the Christian's hope, and 
debases its high and heavenly glory. 

This is a serious and weighty objection, which requires 
a full and deliberate answer. No doctrine can possibly 
be true, which dishonours the Saviour, or is adverse to 
Christian holiness. But it is by no means the safest 
course to determine first what doctrines we, in our 
wisdom, think reasonable or profitable, and then to bend 
the Word of God to our own conclusions. It is far wiser, 
first simply to inquire, what hath the Lord spoken ? and 
then, after believing his messages, to rise into the dis- 
cernment of their wisdom and holiness. 

Such is the right and safe course to pursue in the 
present inquiry. The doctrine must first be received and 
enforced, simply on the ground of the Divine record of its 
truth : but then we may boldly accept this further chal- 
lenge. The first resurrection, when freed from the 
glosses of unworthy friends or prejudiced enemies, will be 
found superior in every point to the rival exposition ; 
more noble, more spiritual, more deeply rooted in the 
analogies of Scripture, and more brightly illustrative of 
the righteousness, grace, and wisdom of God. 

Doubtless, if this resurrection were made only the 
prelude to a life of sensual enjoyments, the objection 
would be fatal. The doctrine might then be justly cast 
aside, as debasing the hope of the Gospel into a Maho- 
metan paradise. But such is not the statement of Scrip- 
ture, nor the view of those who hold to its literal meaning. 



THE FIRST RESURRECTION. 



185 



No : we believe firmly that all they who are counted 
worthy of this resurrection shall be equal with the angels ; 
that their manner of life shall be glorious and heavenly ; 
and that in stainless purity they shall enjoy the closest 
fellowship with their exalted Saviour. 

What, then, are the distinctive features of the doctrine, 
defamed so often as gross and carnal in its nature ? 
First of all, it places the resurrection of the saints nearer 
to us, by a thousand years, than the opposite view. 
Next, it joins that great event with a renovation, not a 
total destruction, of the earth ; a renovation to be after- 
wards completed in that new earth which shall remain 
for ever ; and in which a remnant of living men are 
spared, to form the subjects of Christ's kingdom, and to 
people the world with a righteous generation. Thirdly, 
it ascribes to the saints of the resurrection, beside their 
heavenly blessedness, a rule and dominion over this 
renewed earth ; and pronounces them joint heirs with 
their Lord in the inheritance of the world to come. 

Now first, the doctrine, thus explained, is in harmony 
with the deepest analogies of the Word of God. Let us 
turn once more to the vision. 6 ' They lived and reigned 
with Christ a thousand years." Why is this precise 
period thus marked off, as it were, from the immeasurable 
ages of eternity ? The words of St. Peter suggest 
an answer : "A thousand years with the Lord are as 
one day." And what mysterious day can be here 
designed ? The key is given us in the very opening of 
the Word of God. There, in the birth-week of creation, 
the outlines of God's providence in redemption are set 
before us. In six days, these lower heavens and earth 
were made, and on the seventh, God rested from his 



186 



THE FIRST RESURRECTION. 



works. So, for near six thousand years, the mystery of 
redemption is carried on, till at length, at the sounding of 
the seventh angel, the mystery of God shall he finished, 
and the Millennial Sabbath shall complete and hallow the 
new creation of God. 

Let us now search the type more closely, and to what 
conclusion does it lead ? At the close of the sixth day, 
woman was formed from man, hone of his hone, and flesh 
of his flesh, the crowning mystery of creative wisdom. 
And thus, on the dawn of the first Sahhath, creation 
appeared complete under its appointed ruler ; and man, 
with his new-formed hride, stood forth, upon a sinless 
world, in the visible exercise of supreme dominion. 

The first Adam was the figure of Him who is to 
come ; the second Adam is the Lord from heaven. 
Therefore do we learn, from this Divine type, that when 
the Millennial Sabbath shall dawn upon our world, the 
whole Church of the firstborn will be manifested along 
with their Lord, and will share in his glorious dominion 
over a renovated universe. Far from reversing the order 
of the dispensations, the first resurrection alone preserves 
it inviolate, and unfolds the magnificent harmony between 
the earliest and latest revelations of the Word of God. 

But, again, this doctrine yields a bright illustration of 
the Divine righteousness. Can the opposite view admit, 
on this head, of one moment's comparison ? The office 
of righteousness is visibly, in the sight of men and 
angels, to connect sin with punishment, and obedience 
and faithful suffering with a gracious recompence. 
Remove the first resurrection from the millennial hopes 
of the Church, and the traces of this high attribute are 
very greatly obscured. Restore the doctrine, and that 



THE FIRST RESURRECTION". 



187 



Divine perfection shines forth afresh, in the view of the 
world, with a supernatural splendour. The scene of the 
martyrs' sufferings shall witness their exaltation. They 
who have heen rejected outcasts in a world of rebels, 
shall be crowned with honour and dominion over a world 
redeemed from the fall. The glorious equity of God 
shall thus be no less conspicuous than the triumph of his 
grace ; and men and angels shall join in that adoring 
song : " Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God 
Almighty ; just and true are thy ways, 0 thou King 
of Saints ! " 

And if the righteousness of God is thus brightly 
exhibited in the first resurrection, the riches of his grace 
and condescension are equally displayed. The true 
source of the objection to the doctrine as carnal, lies in 
this very fact, that it is too intensely spiritual for our 
earthly vision. It is dark only with the excess of its own 
brightness. It exhibits the grace of the Saviour in so 
wonderful a light, that our weak faith is unable to credit 
its glorious reality. 

For what is the nature of the usual objections ? It is 
so degrading to the Lord of glory, to appear once more 
upon this lower world, or to manifest himself as the King 
of Israel ! It is so unnatural to bring down glorified 
saints from the trancing delights of the beatific vision, to 
have intercourse with those who are sojourners in the 
dust. No, doubtless, they will be rapt too deeply in 
their own ineffable enjoyments, and resent the thought as 
an unworthy degradation. It is a notion which is revolt- 
ing to our judgment, and goes cross to our natural 
reason ; a new humiliation of our Lord, and gratuitous 



188 



THE FIRST RESURRECTION. 



dishonour to his people, an inconceivable descent, and an 
unutterable meanness ! 

Now what are these objections, my brethren, but an 
unconscious tribute to the excellence of the truth which 
they assail ? What are they but an echo of that inspired 
declaration, " My ways are not your ways, neither are 
your thoughts my thoughts, saith the Lord. For as the 
heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher 
than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts ? " 
Is not condescension, immeasurable condescension, one of 
the most glorious attributes of Jehovah ? Is not this the 
truth which has astonished and confounded his holiest 
servants in their hours of deepest meditation ? Oh, yes, 
it is just such unutterable meannesses as this which prove 
the unutterable brightness of the Divine glory ! " Who 
is like unto the Lord our God, who hath his dwelling so 
high, who humbleth himself to behold the things that are 
in heaven and in the earth ! " 

We cannot conceive that the Lord, exalted above all 
heavens, should stoop to an earthly dominion, even though 
its fruits were light and gladness to the subject nations. 
How, then, should he have stooped to mockery and scorn, 
to the manger and the desert, to agony and the cross ? 
Even, now, amidst the songs of angels, he counts the 
steps of his people, and numbers the hairs of their head. 
Even, now, while all heaven is adoring in his presence, 
he guides the atom which dances in the sunbeam, and 
clothes with a beauty, more excellent than the glory of 
Solomon, the humblest flower of the field. And is it still 
with us, as it was with the disciples of old ? Does the 
greatness of his condescension, after all these wondrous 



THE FIRST RESURRECTION. 



189 



examples, still surpass our belief ; so that lie must renew- 
that reproof to us once more ? "0 fools, and slow of 
heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken ! " 
Surely it adds a fresh brightness to the diadem of his 
glory, and softens the blaze of his Majesty, by the 
tenderness of an infinite compassion and love, when we 
receive the promise in its simple meaning ! He who was 
content for our sakes to be incarnate of the Virgin, will 
never count it unworthy of his greatness to fulfil the rest 
of the angel's message — " The Lord God shall give unto 
him the throne of his father David, and he shall reign 
over the house of Jacob for ever ; and of his kingdom 
there shall be no end." 

And so will it be also with the people of Christ, as with 
their Lord. The disciple is not above his master ; but 
every one who is perfect shall be as his master. We 
may imagine, indeed, to ourselves a celestial happiness, 
in which every believer shall be entranced and swallowed 
up in his own enjoyments. We may fancy that the soul 
will be unconscious of all things but its own supreme 
felicity, and that the whole universe beside will have 
disappeared from its view. We may conceive it the 
height of spiritual attainment to forget the rock whence 
we are hewn, and the pit from whence we are digged, 
and to have the eye of our spirit fastened, in a mystical 
abstraction, on the dazzling effulgence of heaven. But 
such is most assuredly not the scriptural account of the 
final blessedness of the redeemed. No ; the people of 
Christ, in the day of the resurrection, will be like their 
Lord. They will resemble the Saviour in all his Divine 
perfections. And shall the lovely grace of condescension 
alone be wanting ? They shall be equal to the angels, 



190 



THE FIRST RESURRECTION. 



those ministering spirits, whose delight it is to minister 
to the heirs of salvation. And if equal in every other 
grace, shall they who have heen themselves raised from 
the dust he inferior to those Messed spirits in this 
excellence alone ? Far he it from our thoughts, indeed, 
to ascribe to them one taint of corruption, or to assign an 
earthly happiness, such as the pleasures of earth are 
now, to the children of the resurrection. Whatever 
heaven contains of the beautiful and the glorious, we 
freely accord to them as their everlasting portion. But 
will it not add to their holy joy its purest element, that 
amidst the splendour of their own exaltation, they can yet 
delight in offices and in thoughts of love towards this 
lower world ? Yes, even a heathen, though the first of 
heathens, can tell us, that pride and envy are far aloof 
from the heavenly company. The mock dignity of the 
carnal heart, selfish and solitary amidst its own fancied 
greatness, can have no place among the redeemed 
children of God. Their heavenly Father, they well know, 
who has infinite worlds under his control, paints the wing 
of the insect, and adorns the petals of the flower. And 
in that day, his people shall be like Him, for they shall 
see Him as He is. They shall behold Him in the great- 
ness of his terrible Majesty ; and they shall see Him also 
in all the unspeakable condescension of his .goodness. 
And can we then wonder, that while heaven is not too i 
high or too vast for their delighted enjoyment, earth 
itself is not too mean or low to gather around it their 
most tender sympathies, or to be the object of their most 
active and unwearied love. 

III. The reality of the first resurrection, and the weak- 
ness of the objections commonly urged against it, has 



THE FIRST RESURRECTION. 



191 



now, I trust, been clearly established, by the simple 
evidence of the Word of God. It is time to leave these 
straits and shallows of argument, and to meditate more 
directly on the great doctrine itself, and the practical 
lessons which it yields to us. May the Holy Spirit 
graciously be present with us, that conviction may ripen 
into faith, and truth in the understanding may become 
power in the conscience, and life in the heart ! May He 
preserve us from the danger of a mere speculative creed, 
and awaken our souls to the grandeur of the hopes which 
are set before us in this passage of his Word ! Among 
the various lessons which we ought to derive from this 
truth, I would dwell upon three only. The First Resur- 
rection, then, is adapted to deepen the impression of 
eternal things, to deliver us from the power of super 
stitious delusions, and, finally, to quicken our zeal, and 
enlarge our hopes, in the service of Christ. 

In the first place, this doctrine is suited to bring near 
to us the thought of eternity, and to deepen its impression 
on our souls. 

The importance of the resurrection itself may seem, 
perhaps, at first sight, to make every question of time or 
order, trifling and superfluous. What, it may be asked, 
are a thousand years in comparison with eternity ? Why 
dwell on the interval which may exist between the resur- 
rection of the just and the unjust, when there is but one 
question of infinite moment, in which of those two com- 
panies we shall be found ? Why fix our thoughts on 
events comparatively minute, at the risk of throwing into 
the shade the one grand contrast between life eternal, 
and everlasting ruin ? 

However practical and solid such objections may 



192 



THE FIRST RESURRECTION. 



appear, there lurks under them a dangerous illusion. 
Are Christians then, in very truth, thus swallowed 
up by the thought of eternity ? Are the resurrection and 
the glory to come, thus hourly before their eyes, deaden- 
ing them to the vanities of earth, quickening them to 
songs of praise, and enlivening their souls by the near 
prospect of eternal blessedness ? Have they risen to that 
high elevation, in which the present has no more power 
than the future, the near than the distant ; but time and 
eternity are weighed in the balance of Omniscience, and 
this world is nothing compared with that world to come ? 
Alas ! it is far otherwise. The power of the resurrection, 
even in the holiest Christians, and its hold on their 
thoughts, falls infinitely short of the glorious reality. 
The contrast is still more painful in the Church at large. 
How few traces are to be found, in the walks of daily 
life, or even in the councils of Christian nations, of faith 
in a coming resurrection ! How seldom are we reminded 
that the rich and the poor, rulers and subjects, statesmen 
themselves, and the millions for whom they legislate, are 
alike immortal ; and must soon rise to enter on that life, 
which is real and everlasting. 

How, then, shall this fearful delusion be overcome, 
which hides from our thoughts the real vastness of 
eternity ? Besides the grand source of the evil, in the 
unbelief of the heart, there are two others, which have 
their seat in the understanding. We remove eternity 
into the far distance ; and then rest content with the 
general phrase, without dwelling in thought on the 
separate ages of which it is composed, and which make 
up its ever-growing immensity. The first resurrection is 
a Divine remedy for both these illusions. It brings 



THE FIRST RESURRECTION. 



193 



eternity near to us, in the very regions of time, and 
teaches. us to reckon, one by one, the millennial ages 
which compose its perpetual duration. 

We may here borrow a lesson from human science. 
How do we gain the fullest impression of the immensity 
of space ? Is it by gazing at once on the clear sky ? 
No ; this may convey some impression of vastness, but 
far short of the truth. How then may we expand this 
vague feeling into a juster view of the grandeur of the 
universe? A middle term must be brought into the 
reckoning. From distances familiar to our senses the 
astronomer determines, first, the size of the globe on 
which we dwell. From the size of the earth itself, by a 
measurable proportion, he rises to the dimensions of its 
annual orbit. And now, with millions of miles from our 
unit, we ascend by a second step of sublime geometry, 
and obtain a limit for the least distance of the nearest 
star. And thus at length, by these intermediate stages 
of ascent, we attain a far nobler, larger conception of the 
immensity of God's visible creation, than we could ever 
have gained by gazing directly on the starry firmament. 

Now in this doctrine the Holy Spirit employs just the 
same process to awaken in our souls some due impression 
of the grandeur of eternity. The hope of the resurrec- 
tion is no longer buried in the far distance, but stands 
forth the nearest and foremost object in the expectations 
of the Church. And since our eyes might else be dazzled 
by its overwhelming nearness, a middle term is inter- 
posed. The millennial kingdom is set before us, a pledge 
and a preparation for the everlasting happiness to ensue. 
The Spirit of God would thus raise us, by a gradual 
ascent, to a livelier and deeper impression of eternal 

o 



194 



THE FIRST RESURRECTION. 



things. He opens to our view a glimpse of that suhlime 
calendar hy which He plans the course of infinite ages. 
That Millennium, which crowns and consummates the 
world's history, is seen to be with the Lord as one day, 
the first and lowest unit by which to trace out the im- 
measurable duration of the world to come. 

Let us cease, then, my brethren, from the vain fancy, 
that we can grasp by a single effort, or reach at one 
single bomid, the vastness of eternity. Rather let us use 
in faith that ladder which God himself has provided us. 
The first resurrection will then be seen in its true light. 
It will be found mighty to break in pieces the bands of 
worldliness, and to raise the Church afresh to the 
devotedness of apostles in the times of old. Eternity 
would then be more to us than a name. It woirid be 
a thought ever filling, gladdening, enlarging, and over- 
whelming our souls ; while, through the coming Millen- 
nium of resurrection glory, we search into those countless 
ages when God shall be all in all. 

Let us understand then, clearly, this double power of 
the truth in our text, to scatter the illusions of time, and 
fix our thoughts on the thing's unseen and eternal. The 
popular doctrine removes the advent of the Lord and the 
full blessedness of his people into a distant age ; this 
truth brings them near to us, and places them full in our 
view. But it also stoops to the weakness of our faith. 
Just as the astronomer starts from a fresh base, when he 
would leave our little system, and dive into the immensity 
of the firmament ; so does the millennial kingdom of the 
saints lend us a Divine basis from which to start afresh 
in exploring the vastness of a coming eternity. 

And may we not, without presumption, trace the 



THE FIRST RESURRECTION. 



195 



parallel a step further ? The Millennium, we are plainly 
taught, is the antitype of the first Sabbath. And, for 
ought we know, the resemblance may not stop here. 
The whole law was only a shadow of the good things to 
come. What then if its seasons and various celebra- 
tions, its solemn feasts and holy jubilees, should prove to 
be also a foreshadowing of eternal things ? What if the 
Millenniiun, that great day of the Lord, should be only 
the first unit in a larger calendar, the base of a fresh 
departure to mete out the recurrence of festal ages in the 
kingdom of glory, each marked by the display of some 
distinct attribute of Divinity, and some peculiar manifesta- 
tion of God's infinite love ? Yes, the meaning and 
depth of this revelation may not be exhausted when the 
thousand years themselves have expired. That day of 
the Lord, throughout eternity, shall form a fresh era to 
the new creation of God. A new and wondrous calendar, 
whose days are millennial and whose years immeasurable 
ages, may thence have its birth, by which the redeemed, 
in the presence of their Lord, shall measure out their 
undying and immortal blessedness. 0 let us praise and 
adore the love and condescension of God, who has let 
down this truth, like the ladder of Jacob, from that 
eternity which he himself inhabits, that he may raise our 
souls to a larger and more delightful apprehension of the 
glory which is shortly to be revealed ! 

But the first resurrection is not merely adapted to 
deliver us from practical Infidelity, and to fix the eye of 
the soul on eternal realities, it is also a mighty engine of 
Divine grace, to set us free from the power of every 
superstitious delusion. 

Open unbelief, or religious indifference, are not the 
o 2 



196 



THE FIRST RESURRECTION. 



only dangers to which the Church of Christ is exposed. 
It has travailed with sorrow under Pagan persecution, and 
sojourned in the wilderness through ages of Papal super- 
stition and darkness ; and seen for a little moment, the 
volcanic violence of open, Infidel apostasy. Her last 
enemy, we have cause to think, will he neither Popery 
nor Infidelity alone, hut a strange union of both. It will 
he Infidelity, not as it was seen at its hirth, naked and 
hideous ; but full-grown in Satanic wisdom, and clothing 
itself with all the robes of superstition. It may, perhaps, 
adopt everything of Christianity, except Christ himself 
and his salvation. It may boast its forms and ceremonies, 
its creed and miracles, its temples and altars, its priest- 
hood and costly offerings, its high antiquity, and the 
catholic consent of admiring nations. All that is beau- 
tiful and mysterious may be pressed into its sendee, and 
do homage at its shrine. 

Even now, perhaps, amidst other signs of the times, 
the first elements of this strange union may have begun 
to appear. Works invented and enjoined by man instead 
of true faith in Christ, the consent of man replacing the 
sure testimony of God, sacramental forms and shadowy 
mysteries, instead of the new creation of living holiness — 
these are the elements of its growth, the marks of its 
progress, and the sinews of its strength. When art and 
taste shall have lent it all the beauty of their decorations, 
and architecture all its grandeur, and antiquity all its 
mystery, and talent all the sorcery of its eloquence, — 
then, amidst the sound of harp and psaltery and all 
pleasant music, the gigantic delusion may move on to its 
short triumph, and heat sevenfold the furnace of the last 
persecution for the Church of God. 



THE FIRST RESURRECTION. 



197 



Now what power shall raise us above this temptation, 
and break the spell of this last enchantment ? A Gospel 
in word only, a lifeless theory, made up of barren notions, 
cannot possibly stand. ~No, it must be the Gospel of 
Christ, in its power, and depth, and fulness, and above all, 
the Gospel of the kingdom. 

The age, we are told, is yearning for mystery ; and 
the assertion is partly true. Bare, naked scepticism, 
seems to have wearied even unbelievers with its wretched 
emptiness. But where there is not the love of the truth 
as it is in Jesus, the love of mystery is at least an ambi- 
guous passion. The enemy of souls knows well how to 
press it into his own service. It is a possible, and yet a 
fearful thing, when the word of God is neglected, to 
part with one delusion for another, and to exchange the 
shallowness only for the depths of Satan. The mystery 
which lies in obscuring the message of the Gospel, while 
it revels in the ages of superstitious darkness, what is it 
but a broken fragment from the inscription which God 
himself with, his own finger has written on the forehead 
of the mystic Babylon ? 

But whatever form this last temptation may assume, 
the doctrine of the first resurrection will be mighty, 
through God, to deliver us from its power. Are we 
tempted to forsake the word of God for human authorities, 
to defame the Scriptures as a mere patchwork of chance, 
which must have its defects supplied by unwritten tradi- 
tions, claiming to be divine ? Here we see the perfection 
of that word, the deep harmony of all its truths, the 
secret links which unite its earliest and latest revelations, 
thus prove the Divine completeness of the message it 
contains, and of that counsel of redemption which it 



198 



THE FIRST RESURRECTION. 



reveals. Is the venerable name of the Church made the 
watchword of delusion ? Are catholic consent and apos- 
tolic antiquity made a snare to entangle us with a yoke 
of legal bondage, and to turn our hopes from the cross of 
Christ to the doctrines and commandments of men ? The 
hope of the resurrection unmasks the wretched fallacy, 
and scatters the delusion in the light of eternity. It bids 
us renounce the fallacious consent of the many who are 
called for the protesting witness of the few who are 
chosen. It warns us from, that catholic consent of super- 
stition and formality, which serves only to bind the tares 
in bundles for the burning ; and bids us embrace the 
true consent of faith and holiness in the sons of the resur- 
rection, who, all of them, have washed their robes and 
made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Here also 
we learn clearly the great lesson, how to distinguish 
aright between the decent and comely forms of the 
Church, and that breath of life on which her very being 
depends. With the first resurrection full in view, we 
see how wide and comprehensive is the statement of 
Christ's apostle. Yes, whether there be forms, they 
shall fail ; whether there be succession, it shall cease ; 
whether there be orders and sacraments, they shall vanish 
away ; but faith, love, and holiness, and all the fruits of 
the Spirit, shall abide for ever. 

Or, again, is the love of mystery the form which the 
temptation assumes ? Do we long for something deeper 
and fuller than a sensual and material age can supply ? 
Are we prone to despise the Gospel of Christ itself as too 
plain and simple, and to prefer an abstruse and profound 
ceremonial to the worship which is in spirit and in truth ? 
Unsatisfied with the spiritual desert around us, do we 



THE FIRST RESURRECTION. 



199 



look back with wistful eyes to the ages of superstition, 
and say in our hearts, " Let us make a captain, and 
return back to Egypt "? What an answer is here to our 
lawful desires ! what a corrective to our delusions ! This 
doctrine of the first resurrection speaks to us as with a 
voice from heaven. It says to us, Fling away those 
shadowy mysteries which are leading you to ages of super- 
stitious darkness ; but embrace the mystery which God 
himself has revealed, a mystery of light and holiness, 
bright with the glories of a coming eternity. Here there 
is wide room for the noblest exercises of the spiritual 
mind. Here there is a safe and ample field for the 
utmost range of your renewed imagination. Here mystery 
crowds on mystery, in the prospect of happy intercourse 
with patriarchs and prophets, and of high and holy fellow- 
ship with the risen and exalted Saviour. Long not, then, 
after Babylon, even though mystery be part of the name 
she wears on her forehead, when the hour of her destruc- 
tion is close at hand. Dream not of honouring God by 
lighted tapers, and gorgeous rites of bodily service, when 
the true light of heaven is about to rise upon us, and the 
shadows of the world are ready to flee away. Strive not 
to burden the Church with a fresh yoke of ceremonial 
bondage, when she ought, each moment, to be waiting 
for her inheritance, and for the voice which shall summon 
her to the glorious liberty of the children of God ! Only 
let us keep, my brethren, these eternal realities full in our 
view ; let us only root in our souls this hope of the first 
resurrection ; and then no forms will satisfy us, no high- 
sounding names deceive us, no love of mystery will lead 
us astray : even the last and severest hour of temptation, 



200 



THE FIRST RESURRECTION. 



which shall sift every false professor, shall only prepare 
us for the coming of the Lord, and a gracious welcome in 
the day of his appearing. 

And now, finally, let us consider for a few moments the 
tendency of this doctrine to quicken the zeal, and enlarge 
the hopes, of the servants of Christ. 

It is true that an opposite assertion has been often 
made. Hope, it is said, is the parent of activity. But 
this doctrine destroys all hope of full success in missionary 
labours, and, therefore, must paralyze the zeal of the 
Church, and damp all efforts for the conversion and sal- 
vation of the world. The more we expect from Divine 
miracles, the less strenuous shall we be, it is thought, in 
the use of present means : we shall rather wait with folded 
arms, in lazy apathy, for signs and wonders from heaven. 
A closer inquiry, however, will prove to us, that these asser- 
tions are groundless, and that no doctrine yields more 
powerful motives for devoted labour and Christian zeal. 

And, first, let us view it solely in its personal aspect. 
The Gospel has in every age been exposed to that 
licentious abuse — " Let us continue in sin, that grace 
may abound/ y The freeness of the offered salvation may 
not only be perverted by unbelievers to their ruin, but by 
true Christians themselves to their grievous loss. They 
may pride themselves on the fancied clearness of their 
views of the Gospel, till the severest warnings, and the 
most earnest exhortations of God's word fail to impress 
them, and are passed by as legal statements, with which 
they have nothing to do. 

Now one most powerful antidote to this deadly evil, 
this palsy of the soul, is the hope of the first resurrec- 



THE FIRST RESURRECTION. 



201 



tion. Each doctrine of God's word is shielded from abuse 
by some truth which is its contrast. And such is the 
judgment of believers, according to their works, at the 
coming of Christ. To remove this into the far distance, 
is to destroy the main-spring of Christian diligence ; to 
bring it near, is to present to the conscience the most 
stirring motive of devotedness and zeal. It is not merely 
that it tells us of a solemn separation near at hand, when 
one shall be taken and another left, and none but the 
true followers of Christ can stand in his presence. This 
doctrine goes farther still. It tells us plainly, that in the 
resurrection one star differeth from another star in glory. 
It shows us the martyrs, and those who have suffered in 
the cause of Christ, standing foremost in the blessed 
company of his followers. The words of our Lord, it 
reminds us, apply to the holy and the righteous, no less 
than to the filthy and the unjust : " My reward is with 
me, to render to every man according as his work shall 
be." His righteousness as the Judge is not set aside by 
his grace as the Saviour, but is joined with it in the 
closest harmony ; while he assigns to the thousands of his 
saints, according to their several faithfulness, the various 
degrees of recompense and of glory. 

And say, my brethren, is not the near prospect of this 
judgment a powerful call to entire devotedness and unre- 
served obedience ? Next to the dying love of Christ, 
what truth can be so fitted to quicken the faith and 
animate the zeal of God's servants ? And although pure 
gratitude and zeal for the Divine glory, of all motives are 
doubtless the highest, and ought to be supreme in the 
heart ; yet in times of backsliding and lukewarmness, 



202 



THE FIRST RESURRECTION. 



this truth is the most suited of all to rouse the Christian 
from his trance, and to awaken him to renewed energy 
and laborious zeal. Yes, on that day, every one shall 
receive as his work hath been. Each star shall shine 
with its own separate brilliance. Those who have suffered 
or laboured much for Christ shall have the foremost seats 
in his kingdom. 

Here, then, is a scope for the noblest ambition, — an 
ambition free from all stain of sin ; for its prizes are all 
forfeited by selfishness and vainglory ; humility and love 
can alone attain them. Here, the cup of cold water given 
to a disciple shall be recompensed with draughts of living 
joy. Here, riches consecrated to Christ's service, shall 
be replaced by durable riches, the treasures of eternity. 
Each offering laid at the feet of Christ, shall in no wise 
lose its reward. Each various grace of the Christian 
believer in this life, shall be reflected in corresponding 
hues of light and glory in that kingdom of the Lord. 
And surely this truth, in near prospect, cannot fail to be 
a motive for redoubled zeal and devotedness. Surely it 
must teach the Christian to covet earnestly the best gifts ; 
and to be stedfast, immoveable, always abounding in the 
work of the Lord, when he sees that the blessed recom- 
pense is so near at hand. 

But this direct tendency of the doctrine, it will perhaps 
be rejoined, is more than balanced by its deadening effects 
on the collective hopes and missionary prospects of the 
Church. This prejudice is rooted so deeply in the minds 
of many Christians, that I must endeavour, though 
hastening to a close, to remove this stumbling-block out 
of their way. 



THE FIRST RESURRECTION. 



203 



Now, doubtless, if the word of God has revealed to us 
that the whole world will be converted by the preaching of 
the Gospel and the missionary labours of the Church, 
a denial of the promise must be injurious. Error cannot 
have the effects of truth. And, in this case, the Church 
would be deprived of one important element in the real 
and lawful springs of missionary zeal. But if the word 
of God has never sanctioned this expectation, then to 
indulge a false and unscriptural hope must be equally 
injurious. Our first inquiry must be simply, what is the 
revealed truth of God ? The most animating hopes, 
without this Divine warrant, will prove only a vain and 
perilous delusion. 

But we may consent to abandon this high ground 
of Scripture testimony, and compare these two expecta- 
tions, simply in themselves. The doctrine of the First 
Resurrection, when seen in its true light, will be found the 
most animating, quickening, and glorious. 

For wherein lies the real contrast ? We believe alike, 
that God's work of redemption shall yet be complete, and 
the earth be filled with the knowledge of the Lord. We 
are alike persuaded, that there is a large blessing pro- 
mised, even now, to the preaching of the Gospel, and to 
every effort of Christian love. We are further led to 
expect, that at the time of the end, such labours will be 
signally prospered ; that the latter rain of the Spirit shall 
begin to descend, and a vast number of converts be 
prepared for that great harvest at the coming of our 
Lord. Here only is the point of divergence. While 
many think that the means now in use will of themselves 
complete the world's redemption, we believe that the 



204 



THE FIRST RESURRECTION. 



ministers of Christ are only the heralds to prepare 
his way, and that the full triumph of Divine grace over 
man's rehellion will be in that great day when the Lord 
himself shall appear. 

Now what will he the practical tendency of this differ- 
ence ? The immediate duty of Christian labour and 
missionary exertion continues the same. The motive in 
the assurance of present success, is the same also. The 
blessed privilege of turning sinners from the error of their 
ways, and saving many souls from death, is open to our 
prayers and labours on either view. Here only the prac- 
tical contrast begins. The prospect of the first resurrec- 
tion forbids the Church to rest on her own efforts, or to 
trust in the outward instruments she employs. It com- 
mands her not to sacrifice to her own net, nor to burn 
incense to her own drags, but to centre all her hopes 
around the person of the Saviour. No present success 
can now elate her with pride ; she knows that the full 
triumph must visibly belong to the Lord alone. No 
seeming want of success can now discourage her ; she 
sees behind her a mighty reserve of supernatural agency 
in the counsels of heaven, which shall vanquish every 
enemy, and complete her triumph. She will not now be 
tempted, in a mechanical age, and amidst the bustle of 
her own labours, to turn the G-ospel itself into a system of 
machinery, and to forget the mystery and the grandeur of 
things unseen and eternal. All the present stimulants to 
action and diligence she still retains. But there is in- 
fused into them a deeper feeling of majesty and holiness ; 
there is thrown around them a sacred mantle of Divine 
glory. The meanest labours of her children in the service 



THE FIRST RESURRECTION. 



205 



of Christ are now seen to be linked, in close and imme- 
diate union, with all the unutterable solemnity of that 
great day of the Lord's appearing. 

And if we look beyond the present labours of the 
Church to the future season of her triumph, the practical 
excellence of this truth will still more plainly appear. No 
other view tends so powerfully to enlarge and ennoble the 
hopes of the Christian in the near prospect of the millen- 
nial glory. 

There is much, doubtless, in the hope of the Millennium, 
even in its popular form, which is most cheering and 
delightful to the Christian bosom. When we look back 
on the wars and violence which make up this world's 
history, how blessed a hope it is, that peace and righteous- 
ness shall yet prevail, and the name of Christ be honoured 
through all the earth ! And when we further anticipate 
a large and unwonted measure of holiness, in Churches of 
true believers, what more can the Christian desire, in his 
best hopes for this fallen and sinful world ? 

And yet, my brethren, there is fuller and higher 
hope in store for this earth, and the first resurrection 
opens it to our view. It was a blessed thing, when 
Joseph's brethren repented of their guilt, and said, " We 
are verily guilty concerning our brother ;" and when the 
heart of Joseph yearned towards them with a brother's 
tenderness. But it was a more blessed moment still, 
when the recognition was openly made, and when Joseph 
wept on the neck of his astonished brethren. And so, 
too, it is a joyful thought to look forward to the time 
when nations shall repent of their vanities, and earth 
bear once more some resemblance of heaven. But far 
more joyful and glorious it is to believe, that the recon- 



206 



THE FIRST RESURRECTION. 



cilement shall be openly made, that heaven itself shall 
stoop down to earth ; and that the Lord Jesus, in visible 
glory, shall welcome back the rebellious prodigal within 
the happy bounds of the unfallen universe. What can 
be more glorious than the hope that all the assembly 
of the faithful shall then be gathered unto their Lord, 
and wearing his Divine image, share in his holy dominion, 
and shed all the light and love of heaven upon the 
sojourners of this lower world ! The hope of the Millen- 
nium has thus a fulness, and breadth, and grandeur 
which no words can describe. The barrier of separation 
will be removed ; the veil of the covering which sin had 
spread over the nations will be taken away. The stone 
will be rolled from this vast sepulchre of dying men ; and 
the angels of God, those Divine remembrancers of the 
Church, shall once more hold visible fellowship with our 
ransomed earth. Our world will be no longer a rebel 
outcast, shut out by sin from all open communion with 
the sinless creation ; but like a new-born infant, cradled 
in the arms of infinite loving-kindness, will be received, 
amidst the anthems of saints and angels, into the family 
of heaven. 

What element, then, of animating hope, or of holy joy, 
is wanting to the prospect which this truth unfolds to us ? 
What larger wish can even our imagination conceive ? 
They are scenes which surpass fable, and yet, my brethren, 
they are true. The earth shall be redeemed from the 
fall. The saints of the Most High shall take the king- 
dom, and possess it for ever and ever. From righteous 
Abel down to the believers of the present age, not one 
shall be absent from the blessed company. The glorious 
company of the apostles will be there. The goodly 



THE FIRST RESURRECTION. 



207 



fellowship of tlie prophets will be there also. The noble 
army of martyrs, slain for the word of God, and the 
testimony of Jesus — their cry will have ceased, and their 
prayer be answered, and they who have suffered with 
their Lord, shall reign with him in glory. The holy 
Church, of all the true servants of Christ in every land, 
shall be there also. Now separated, alas ! not by distance 
only, but by the worse separation of mutual errors and 
sins — their errors will then have passed away like a 
dream, their contentions be exchanged for love, and their 
loud disputes for the louder songs of thanksgiving. Yes, 
and those who, like the Patriarch Israel, could not 
receive the good tidings, shall yet find them a blessed 
reality, and share themselves also in that first resurrec- 
tion of all the people of God. 

But that which crowns these hopes of the Church, and 
adds to them their noblest element, will be the visible 
presence of the Lord Jesus. " They lived and reigned 
with Christ. " At the birth of our Lord, when the angel 
brought the tidings to the shepherds, it was the mention 
of the sign, " the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, 
and lying in a manger,' ' which awoke the song of praise 
in the celestial company. The Spirit of God here 
repeats the same lesson. It is not the exaltation of the 
martyrs, nor the thrones of judgment ; no, it is the pre- 
sence of Christ with his people, over which the Spirit 
pronounces at once this glowing benediction. He seems 
to lead the Church through the whole course of God's 
former mercies, and through all the other elements of the 
millennial felicity, and then to say to her at the close, — 
" Thou shalt see greater things than these." One 
higher token remains of Divine goodness ; one crowning 



208 



THE FIRST RESURRECTION, 



proof of the Saviour's condescension. " Hereafter shall 
ye see the heavens opened, and the angels of God ascend- 
ing and descending upon the Son of man." It is with 
Christ that the children of the resurrection shall live 
and reign, and therefore Messed and holy must they he 
for ever ! 

And is it possible that He who is surrounded by the 
hosts of angels, should ever visit again this sinful world, 
save for one passing moment to destroy it for ever ? Can 
it he, that amidst the immensity of his works, this mean 
planet should again be honoured with his presence ? Yes, 
it is possible, and true also. He hath promised the 
daughter of Zion, " Lo, I come, and dwell in the midst 
of thee," saith the Lord. The name of the city which 
Ezekiel beheld is, Jehovah Shammah, The Lord is there. 
Heaven and earth may pass away, but his words shall 
not pass away. His sacred feet shall stand once more 
on the Mount of Olives ; and Zion, which is now for- 
saken and desolate, shall yet hear his voice of love, 
saying to her, " Arise, and shine, for thy light is come, 
and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. ,, 

And is not this to degrade the Lord of glory ? Does 
not this contract his greatness and majesty within mean 
and unworthy bounds ? 0, no ! for he is still the 
same Infinite One who issues the challenge to the 
universe. " Do not I fill heaven and earth ? saith the 
Lord." Far be it from our thoughts to make this earth 
his prison-house, whom the heaven of heavens cannot 
contain : no, it will be only the footstool of his Divine 
Majesty. But this we believe, that according to his 
promise, He will make the place of his feet glorious by 
his own manifested presence. The manhood, the mystic 



THE FIRST RESURRECTION. 



209 



heel of Emmanuel, which here below, on the cross, was 
bruised by the malice of Satan, shall be visibly revealed 
here on earth in the beauty of the resurrection, shall be 
the source of a world's blessedness, and the centre of its 
holy adoration. The times, the frequency, or the manner, 
in which the King of Israel shall appear to the nations 
upon earth, we are neither careful nor curious to explain. 
But the fact of his visible presence is distinctly revealed. 
The Holy Land, we are taught, will be the chosen 
theatre where that presence shall be displayed. " The 
Lord will create on every dwelling-place of Mount Zion, 
and on all her assemblies, a cloud and a smoke by day, 
and the shining of a flaming fire by night, for on all the 
glory shall be a defence." " Sing and rejoice, 0 daughter 
of Zion : for lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of 
thee, saith the Lord." 

But whatever be the nature or manner of this visible 
intercourse with the sojourners upon earth, the communion 
of the risen saints with their Lord shall be perpetual and 
unbroken. They shall be like him, for they shall see 
him as he is. Corruption shall have put on incorruption, 
and their mortal shall have put on immortality. They 
shall have dominion over a ransomed earth ; they shall 
be admitted freely to the palaces of heaven. The 
covenant of Abraham, sealed, as the Psalmist declares, 
to a thousand generations, shall be plenteously fulfilled. 
They shall be blessed, and their name shall be great, 
and they shall be a blessing. Every trial they have 
borne, every suffering they have endured, every tempta- 
tion they have overcome, will only have accomplished the 
gracious design of their Lord, and fitted them for that 

p 



210 



THE FIRST RESURRECTION. 



royal priesthood, which they shall exercise through 
eternity over the new creation of God. 

And now, my brethren, in closing this great subject, 
let me humbly commend the whole to your private and 
prayerful meditation. Search the Scriptures whether 
these things be so. And when you have gained, as you 
may gain, a full conviction of their truth, 0 let us pray 
that these convictions may be endured with a transferring 
power. The Holy Spirit alone, who delights to magnify 
the grace of the Saviour, and to show us things to come, 
can apply the doctrine with a living energy to our souls. 
Let us seek for his gracious influence, that these hopes 
of the Church, built on the true sayings of God, may not 
pass away from us, like the empty visions of a dream. 
Let us rather adopt the words of that apostle, who had 
a glimpse of this coming kingdom on the holy mount : 
" Seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that 
ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and 
blameless.' ' 

And while we meditate, with joy and reverence, on 
this blessed hope, let us never forget how inseparably the 
sufferings of Christ and the glory that shall follow, are 
blended together in the word of God. None shall be 
sharers in this kingdom, but those who have been purified 
by faith in the sacrifice of Christ, and have made their 
robes white in the atoning blood of the Lamb. See, 
then, that you build on this foundation alone. Quicksands 
there are without number, on which men may build to 
their souls' ruin ; but these are not foundations ; they 
will not endure in the day of trial : for other " foundation 
can no man lay, than that which is laid, even Christ 



THE FIRST RESURRECTION. 211 

Jesus. " It is the cross of our dying Saviour which alone 
can prepare us for the hour of his approaching judg- 
ments. Learn a lesson, then, of Divine wisdom, from 
the great apostle ; and when you come by faith to the 
foot of the mount, to anticipate the hope of the resurrec- 
tion, and gaze on the general assembly of the first-born, 
0 let your eye rest upon Jesus, the Mediator of the new 
covenant, and the blood of sprinkling, which speaketh 
better things than the blood of Abel. Yet, even while 
you gaze on the cross, forget not that wonderful inscrip- 
tion which it bears, full of joy, and hope, and the promise 
of good things to come — " Jesus of Nazareth, the King 
of Israel." In that one short title alone, what a rich 
treasury of hope is contained for our fallen world ! 
When the King of Israel shall himself appear in his 
beauty, and according to his promise, the angels of God 
shall be seen ascending and descending upon the Son of 
man ; then, and not till then, will the promise of the first 
resurrection be felt and known in the immeasurable vast- 
ness of the love which it reveals. Then, and then only, 
will it be seen how truly blessed and holy are those 
ransomed children of God. Meanwhile let our hearts 
and our hopes be fixed, with earnest desire, on that 
coming kingdom. May God himself enable us, every 
one, to renew, with a deeper fervency of supplication, the 
prayer we have already offered — " We beseech thee, O 
Lord, pour thy grace into our hearts ; that, as we have 
known the incarnation of thy Son Jesus Christ by the 
message of an angel, so, by his cross and passion, we 
may be brought unto the glory of his resurrection, 
through the same Jesus Christ our Lord." " Now, unto 
him that is able to do for us exceeding abundantly above 
p 2 




212 



THE FIRST RESURRECTION. 



all that we can ask or think, according to the power that 
worketh in us ; to him he glory in the Church, by Christ 
Jesus, throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.' 7 



XOTE A. 

A different view of the passage (Matthew xxv. 31 — 46) has 
been adopted by several advocates of the pre-millennial Advent, 
and one more remote from the common interpretation, referring 
it to the judgment of living nations before the Millennium begins. 
This place is not suited for the full discussion of the subject. 
The view, however, here taken, has been deliberately preferred. 
There are three decisive objections to the other view. First, the 
judgment of the living has been described in the previous 
parables. Secondly, the nations not included in the Church are 
not all gathered together at the opening of the Millennium. 
(Isaiah lxvi.) And, thirdly, the sentence on the wicked is 
plainly the sentence, not of present death, but of everlasting 
judgment, which follows the close of the MiUennium. And, 
besides, from the evident climax, no other interpretation answers 
to the majesty and grandeur of this impressive description. 
Accordingly the Church has universally applied it to the decision 
of the final state of mankind. 



LECTURE VIII. 



THE JUDGMENT OF THE LIVING. 



BY THE KEY. ALEXANDEK DALLAS, M.A., 

RECTOR OF WONSTON, HANTS. 



2 Timothy IV. 1. 

" Jesus Christ . . . shall judge the quick and the dead 
at his appearing and his kingdom." 

Matt. XXV. 31. 

" When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all 
the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the 
throne of his glory." 

Perhaps it is impossible for any human being to stand 
in a more responsible, and it may be said indeed a more 
awful position, than when he is commissioned to preach 
the Gospel, " which is able to save the soul," and which 
must be " a sweet savour of Christ" whenever it is 
delivered, " the savour of life unto life" in some, and 
* ' the savour of death unto death" in others. And if 
this be the case when preaching the Gospel in ordinary 
circumstances, what should be the degree of solemnity 



214 THE JUDGMENT OF THE LIVING. 



impressed on the mind when one of the ministers of 
Christ is specially engaged, in his providence, to stand up 
and open the most wonderful of the pages of that Gospel, 
— wonderful in every respect ; wonderful as regards the 
communication of it to us poor sinners ; wonderful as 
regards the details of it ; wonderful in the eyes of the 
angels, who, as they are reading chapter after chapter of 
the marvellous history of the wisdom of God, learnt 
through the Church, are led on to contemplate the great 
climax of their wonder, when they shall see all things 
clustering to one point at the judgment of the quick and 
the coming of the Lord in his glory ; hut most wonderful 
when taken in connexion with the subjects for judgment, 
poor lost sinners, necessarily and naturally condemned, 
and yet saved through the great atonement : for though 
the saints will be the subjects of a judgment then, yet 
certainly " there is no condemnation to them that are in 
Christ Jesus ! " Here is the height of the wonder of 
this most wonderful subject. 

Under this solemn impression I stand here at this 
time ; and I confess that I feel also exceedingly bur- 
dened with a sense of the much which it will be needful 
to say, and the little capacity, from time and circum- 
stances, for bringing the subject before you. There is 
one comfort under the sense of this burden, derived from 
the recollection that my subject is not a matter of deduc- 
tion from reasoning ; nor one in which I am to base my 
statements upon the arguments of the human mind ; but 
it is a matter of simple revelation. I need say nothing 
connected with it but that which God has been pleased 
to reveal ; and if I do but touch upon a few of the points 
which may suggest thoughts that open upon the mind 



THE JUDGMENT OF THE LIVING. 



215 



that light which God pours in through his own word, it 
is in the confidence that you will go home and search the 
Scriptures to see whether these things are so, and he 
helped in the application of passage after passage, so as 
the more easily to trace out, each for himself, the won- 
derful windings of the subject which is now before us. 
It is only under the power of the Holy Spirit that I can 
enter upon this task ; and it is only under the power of 
the Holy Spirit that you can attend to it profitably. 
May that Holy Spirit, who is assuredly present in the 
midst of us, even the Spirit of Christ, mercifully con- 
descend at this time to take of the things of Christ 
belonging to this especial subject, and show them to our 
minds ! May that Holy Spirit open the heart of every 
one present, and make them receive the word profitably, 
to their own edification and to the glory of the Lord ! 
May God, for Christ's sake, at this time give to each of 
us the Holy Spirit ! 

The subject before us leads us to inquire into the 
scriptural statements respecting the judgment of the 
living. This is a very large subject in itself under 
whatever limits we bring it, and it is necessary to limit 
it by definitions. Perhaps there is not a word in the 
whole Scripture more equivocal in its use than the word 
"judgment." I do not purpose to make use of this 
word in the sense in which God's great acts of wrath 
have been, are, and will be poured out upon the wicked 
in the world at different times ; such as the act of God's 
judgment by the flood, or by the destruction of Sodom, 
or by the destruction of Jerusalem, or by similar acts 
which shall happen hereafter. These judgments of the 
Lord are not what we are about to speak of. Neither 



216 



THE JUDGMENT OF THE LIVING. 



do I take the word " judgment " in the sense of that 
continuous state of rule which the Spirit has sometimes 
employed it to express ; and "by which, when it is so 
employed with respect to the Lord's kingdom, is meant 
his reigning or judging, as " Bang of kings, and Lord of 
lords," upon the earth. It is not in these senses, but 
strictly in a forensic sense, technically a " judgment ; " 
that is to say, the act of judging by calling to account, 
and entering into a judicial examination upon a great 
and solemn occasion. Judgments of this kind, we are 
led from many parts of Scripture to know, must take 
place ; it is in this sense of the word that we are now to 
consider what we are taught in Scripture respecting the 
judgment on those persons who, at the time of the 
coming of the Lord, shall he found alive upon the earth — 
"the quick." 

While this is the definition of the proposed subject, it 
will not be proper to consider it as contradistinguished 
from the judgment of the dead ; for that would not 
convey a correct notion of the antithesis intended ; but 
as contradistinguished from another judgment, to which 
the Scripture bids us look forward as occurring at 
another period. This other judgment relates, indeed, 
only to " the dead ; " but that we are now to consider 
does not relate only to the living. The text distinctly 
states, that Christ at his appearing shall judge the quick 
and the dead ; and here "the quick" and "the dead" 
are so mentioned that they must be taken, to mean 
some of each at the same judgment There will be, 
therefore, one judgment to some who shall be alive at 
his coming, with some who shall be dead at his coming. 
As this is to include some who are quick and some who 



THE JUDGMENT OF THE LIVING. 



217 



are dead at his appearing, we must inquire where we 
shall find an account of the resurrection of those dead. 
In the twentieth chapter of the Revelation we have the 
whole subject of the two resurrections condensed. There 
is to be a " first resurrection ; " and all who are raised 
at the first resurrection are said to be " blessed and 
holy." "Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the 
first resurrection ; on such the second death hath no 
power." (Ver. 6.) But whilst we are distinctly told 
of this as a "first resurrection," so distinguished, we 
are further told that " the rest of the dead lived not 
again until the thousand years were finished." (Ver. 5.) 
Here we have, therefore, a division of the whole number 
of the dead into two parts. Some of the dead are to 
arise at a resurrection which is called the first. None 
rise, therefore, before these, and all who rise then are 
"blessed and holy." Then " the rest of the dead," 
that is, all the remainder, are not to rise again for a 
thousand years. At the end of this thousand years the 
statement of a judgment is very distinctly and plainly set 
forth. (Rev. xx. 11 — 15.) 4 6 And I saw a great white 
throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the 
earth and the heaven fled away ; and there was found no 
place for them. And I saw the dead ; " and then these 
dead are described to be the great and the small out of 
the sea, out of the earth, out of Hades, and all death 
collectively. All are then to be raised up, to stand for 
judgment. A number of boohs are opened ; and this is 
contrasted with the opening of a single booh ; and while 
it is stated that the dead are judged, every man out of 
those boohs, according to his works, the opening of the 
other booh is for another purpose altogether. It is not 



218 



THE JUDGMENT OF THE LIVING. 



used to call up to judgment any individual whose name 
is written therein ; but it is employed simply as a testi- 
mony to establish, the perfect justice of the sentence on 
the others ; to manifest that not one of those who will 
then be judged had his name written in the book of life. 
As the solemn tribunal is sitting for the judging of " the 
rest of the dead," we may suppose that there will be a 
reference to this book ; and as each individual is accused, 
we may imagine the question to be asked, " Is his name 
in the book of life ? " "Is there any escape for him ? " 
" Xo ; it is not found there," will be the answer. 
" Whosoever was not found written in the book of life 
was cast into the lake of fire." This is all which can be 
grounded upon the mention of this book of life in this 
awful passage of God's Word. All the dead whose 
names were written in the book of life will have been 
raised a thousand years before this, and not one shall 
perish, or be again judged ; while all the remaining 
dead shall be raised afterwards to a judgment at which 
none shall be saved. Our Lord himself classifies these 
two resurrections, one as " the resurrection of life," 
and the other as " the resurrection of damnation." 
(John v. 29.) 

I have considered it necessary thus to establish, 
distinctly and scripturally, the anticipation of two resur- 
rections ; one of which is to bring on the judgment at 
the great tribunal on persons all of whom have been 
dead, while the other is in preparation for the judgment 
spoken of in the text and in other places, as the judg- 
ment of "the quick and the dead." This judgment 
(which, in this respect, will be of a twofold character, 
some being " quick" and some " dead") is to be at the 



THE JUDGMENT OF THE LIVING. 



219 



appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ, the " first resurrec- 
tion," at the beginning of the thousand years; while 
the other judgment is to take place at the end of the 
thousand years. Now it is the former judgment of which 
we are to inquire. The great points for us to consider 
are, Who are to he the subjects of this judgment ; and 
what are the circumstances connected with it, so far as 
we are able to find them in the Holy Scriptures. 

Before we proceed, it will be important to store up two 
remarks in the mind. The one refers to the necessity 
for adhering strictly to the principles of the interpretation 
of Scripture which we are to adopt in searching into this 
subject. I will not pause, even for one moment, to advo- 
cate the literal principle of interpretation which we 
follow. I take it for granted that its soundness has been 
already established in previous portions of this course of 
Lectures, as distinguished from the figurative mode of 
interpretation. I use the word figurative emphatically, 
in order to call attention to the fact, that the literal 
interpretation of the Scripture is not to be opposed to the 
spiritual. We all acknowledge that Scripture should 
have a spiritual interpretation ; there is not a passage 
into which the Spirit may not compress a second meaning. 
We ought not, therefore, to make use of the word 
"literal" as contradistinguished from "spiritual," but 
as contradistinguished from ' ' figurative." But there is 
one point connected with the subject which is not generally 
attended to : the habit of our minds is to fill up the out- 
line statements of Scripture with inferential additions, 
suggesting themselves according to our notions, as, of 
course, in connexion with the main features before us ; 
and whether it be the literal, or whether it be the 



220 THE JUDGMENT OP THE LIVING. 



figurative interpretation which we adopt, a great many of 
these inferential additions find their way into our minds. 
We take it for granted that this must follow when that 
occurs ; and in this way we seem to escape some diffi- 
culties, while in reality we create many more. The right 
way is to take the Scripture just as we find it, and when 
we come to a difficulty, to oppose our faith to it. Have 
we a grammatical passage literally and plainly stating 
any point ? Yes ; but it is wonderful, and not consistent 
with our accustomed notions. God is wonderful. It is 
true if God has said it, whatever our notions may he on 
the subject ; and if the Lord will but pour down the 
Spirit to enable us to believe, all the difficulties fall 
before our faith. 

The second remark which I would store up in your 
minds is, that we are accustomed to consider the advent 
of the Lord as the event of one day. As we take it in 
at one thought, we are in the habit of looking forward to 
it as though it were one undivided act. There are a 
great many events which are spoken of historically in the 
same way, but we shall find, that though they are men- 
tioned merely as one great act, yet the development of 
each consisted of various acts in detail, occupying a con- 
siderable portion of time. When we speak of the invasion 
of the Conqueror, we speak of it as one event, it conveys 
one thought ; yet it was a long campaign. When we 
talk of the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus, we con- 
dense it into one thought ; yet it consisted of a long 
course of events. So, also, when we talk of the advent 
of our Lord, we should remember, that though it will be 
one great crisis to the world, yet it is to be developed in 
the same way as other great historical and prophetical 



THE JUDGMENT OF THE LIVING. 



221 



events ; and though it has not pleased God to give us 
any systematic detailed plan of all that will then take 
place, yet it has pleased him to give us considerable 
information on many points. By putting all these to- 
gether with such consistency as the nature of the events 
will guide us in observing, we may come at the know- 
ledge of much that will occur in connexion with the great 
crisis of the world at the epiphany of the Lord Jesus 
Christ. 

The main subject for our consideration, " the judgment 
of the quick and the dead," is expressly stated in the text 
to take place " at the appearing and the kingdom of the 
Lord Jesus Christ." We must begin, therefore, by 
inquiring into the circumstances of that great event. In 
the prophecy upon the Mount, our Lord himself tells us, 
that a time shall come when Jerusalem shall cease to 
"be trodden down of the Gentiles" (Luke xxi. 24), and, 
also, that "immediately after the tribulation" upon the 
Jews (which shall terminate when a Jewish supremacy 
shall put an end to Gentile dominion in Jerusalem) great 
astronomical derangements shall take place, and "then 
shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven." 
(Matt. xxiv. 29, 30.) This " sign of the Son of man in 
heaven " is described by St. Luke as "the Son of man 
coming in a cloud with power and great glory " (Luke 
xxi. 27), as was promised by the angels at the ascension, 
— " This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into 
heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen 
him go into heaven." (Acts i. 11.) Our Lord adds, 
that he will then " send his angels with a great sound of 
a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from 
the four winds." For some additional particulars we 



222 



THE JUDGMENT OF THE LIVING. 



must look to the fourth chapter of the first Epistle to 
the Thessalonians, where the apostle, intending to com- 
fort Christians with the assurance that they, whether the 
quick or the dead, will meet their friends departed in 
Christ at the coming of the Lord, says, at the thirteenth 
verse, " I would not have you to he ignorant, brethren, 
concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, 
even as others which have no hope. For if we helieve 
that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which 
sleep in Jesus will God "bring with him,' , that is, with 
Jesus. But, as if the thought occurred, How is he to 
get them from their graves ? the apostle (having in- 
structed the Church that this vile hody must he fashioned 
like unto Christ's glorious hody) proceeds to state how it 
is that God will gather the saints in order to bring them 
with Jesus, " This we say unto you by the word of the 
Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the 
coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are 
asleep. For the Lord himself " (that is, himself alone as 
a man) " shall descend from heaven with a shout, with 
the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God ; 
and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then," says the 
apostle, " we which are alive and remain shall he caught 
up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in 
the air ; and so shall we ever he with the Lord." 

This, then, is the way in which God will gather his 
elect, in order that he may bring them with Jesus, and 
when they are thus gathered, they will " ever be with the 
Lord." When, therefore, this cloud shall come down 
near the earth, for " the Lord himself shall descend from 
heaven," and when it shall hover over the earth, yet high 
enough to make it true that the saints " shall be caught 



THE JUDGMENT OF THE LIVING. 



223 



up to meet the Lord in the air," both the first resurrec- 
tion and- the first judgment must take place. Pause for 
a moment and consider, shall we be there ? This is the 
solemn and all important consideration for each, and that 
which makes the subject really an important one. May 
God of his infinite mercy fasten that consideration upon 
all our hearts, remembering the statement of our Lord, 
that of those who have made the same profession, and 
been occupied about the same employments, " one shall 
be taken and another left ; " "two men shall be in the 
field, two women at the mill, one shall be taken, another 
left ; " which of us, if we be living, would be taken, 
and which left on earth with the Lord's enemies ? 

Having traced these circumstances in connexion with 
the glorious advent of the Lord Jesus Christ, we must 
proceed to examine to what part of this great event the 
judgment of "the quick and the dead at his appearing " 
belongs. 

To do this, it will be necessary to inquire, who are 
then to be judged ? This has been considered to be a 
difficult question. In the fifth chapter of the Second 
Epistle to the Corinthians there is a very distinct state- 
ment made to the Corinthian Christians, that " we must 
all appear before the judgment- seat of Christ ; that every 
one may receive the things done in his body, according to 
that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." Also in 
the fourteenth chapter of Romans and the tenth verse 
there is a similar statement, with a special reference to 
the brethren. St. Paul says, addressing a Christian 
brother, " Why dost thou judge thy brother ? .... for 
we must all stand before the judgment-seat of Christ." 
So that it distinctly appears that there is to be a judg- 



224 



THE JUDGMENT OF THE LIVING. 



ment referring to the saints, and that according to works. 
In other parts of Scripture we find it written, " Cursed is 
every one that continueth not in all things which are 
written in the book of the law to do them ; " and in 
connexion with this, we read, ' • Christ hath redeemed us 
from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us." 
(Gal. hi. 10, 13.) Then we find again, " Not by works 
of righteousness which we have done, but according to 
his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration 
and renewing of the Holy Ghost." (Titus iii. 5.) And 
again, " Being justified by faith, we have peace with God 
through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Rom. v. 1); and, 
" There is therefore now no condemnation to them which 
are in Christ Jesus." (Rom. viii. 1.) Numberless other 
passages contain this essential doctrine of the Gospel of 
salvation, and there is nothing in them really at variance 
from the doctrine of the text. " There is no condemna- 
tion to them which are in Christ Jesus," for Jesus has 
given himself to be a " curse for us." He has moreover 
sent forth his Spirit to apply this truth with power to the 
hearts of his people, and thus to convert his own elect out 
of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation ; he 
has borne their condemnation, and not one of their sins 
shall be mentioned to them. But neither is it said that 
there shall be any judgment of their sins ; their persons 
have been judged for sin and the penalty paid on the 
cross ; a new motive and a new power has been given to 
them in conveying to them the saving knowledge of the 
atonement there accomplished ; and with that motive, 
and under that power, they have set forth to serve the 
Lord their Saviour, who will come and reckon with them 
concerning the works performed in that service, for 



THE JUDGMENT OF THE LIVING. 



225 



which purpose we must all stand before Christ's judgment- 
seat. 

In order to ascertain the particular circumstances 
which have been revealed respecting this judgment, we 
must refer to the answer given by our Lord to the ques- 
tion put to him by the four disciples as he sat upon the 
Mount of Olives. They had asked him, " When shall 
the destruction of the temple be ? and what shall be the 
sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world ? " 
(Matt. xxiv. 3.) The Lord immediately entered largely 
into the subject. He first rectified the mistakes into 
which they were falling respecting the destruction of 
Jerusalem ; and then he gave that prophetic account of 
his Epiphany which is found in the end of the twenty- 
fourth and the whole of the twenty-fifth chapters of St. 
Matthew. After having shown what would be the signs 
in the heavens,' — the appearance of the Son of man in 
heaven — the general and sudden gathering of his elect 
people from every quarter — the general state of the world 
—the unpreparedness of the people and their incredulity 
as to the crisis at hand ; and specially warning those 
ministers who shall be forgetful of the coming of the 
Lord, saying, " My Lord delayeth his coming;" he 
says, " Then" — at the time of the approach of the 
Lord's advent — at the period of the crisis, " then shall 
the kingdom, of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which 
took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. 
And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They 
that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with 
them : but the wise took oil in their vessels with their 
lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered 
and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, 

Q 



226 THE JUDGMENT OF THE LIVING. 



Behold, the bridegroom cometh ; go ye out to meet him. 
Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. 
And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil ; 
for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, 
saying, Not so ; lest there be not enough for us and you ; 
but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. 
And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came ; and 
they that were ready went in with him to the marriage : 
and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other 
virgins, saying, Lord, open to us. But he answered and 
said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch 
therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour 
wherein the Son of man cometh. " (Matt. xxv. 1 — 13.) 

The kingdom of heaven — the condition of the Church 
just before the Lord's coming — is here compared to that 
of ten bridesmaids preparing for a wedding. Half of 
these are wise, and half are foolish. All have their 
lamps. The bridesmaids are the different classes of 
professors ; and the lamp is their profession, — that which 
we made just now when we repeated an orthodox creed, 
making confession of the truth. But some of these had 
nothing but the light of their profession; whilst others 
had the source of true light, the unction from on high — 
the Holy Ghost. " While the bridegroom tarried, they 
all slumbered and slept." As the point of the parable 
is, that the virgins went forth to meet the bridegroom, 
this shows that the doctrine concerning the Lord's advent 
is for a time to be practically forgotten. Not that pro- 
fessing Christians will have renounced their expecting 
position ; for the expectation of the Lord's coming must 
always be declared in the creed ; but the Church upon 
the whole is to be satisfied with the acknowledgment of 



THE JUDGMENT OF THE LIVING. 



227 



this truth in a verbal profession, while as to the power 
and symmetry of the doctrine they will slumber and sleep. 
At midnight, just before the Lord's arrival, there is to be 
a shout, " Get ready to meet him ! " And then, when 
men's hearts are failing them for fear, — when signs shall 
be seen in the heavens, — and above all that bright cloud 
which bears the Son of man ; — then, as the bridegroom 
approaches, men shall earnestly manifest a desire to be 
at last, what true Christians are at first ; they will try to 
get the oil as though it were a sort of common stock ; as 
though in saying, " Give us of your oil," were expressed 
the notion, " I am a member of the Church, and the 
Church contains certainly the true people of God ; I have 
been baptized, and claim, by right of external union with 
the body, a share of the spirituality which some possess, 
that, as a member of the Church, I maybe saved." But 
the truly unctuous ones will stand forth and protest 
against this doctrine : they will answer, " There is no 
power of communicating grace upon the principle of a 
joint-stock. At best, such a doctrine would rest upon 
the unscriptural hope of a ritual salvation, which would 
assuredly fail. Each for himself must obtain the oil ; 
nothing will save but the Holy Ghost, personally applied 
from on high, and personally retained to keep alight the 
lamp of a true profession of faith ; seek it where alone it 
is to be found." And then will a number of professors 
be endeavouring, when too late, to remedy their original 
mistake ; too late, alas ! for in the midst of these 
attempts the Lord himself shall appear, and they that are 
ready go in with him to the marriage. 

In this parable we have a figurative description of the 
Lord's coming ; and we have had before a literal one. 
Q 2 



228 



THE JUDGMENT OF THE LIVING. 



The literal account says, " The trumpet shall sound, and 
the dead shall he raised incorruptible, and we (the living) 
shall he changed." These quick and dead saints shall go 
in with him to the marriage ; one shall be taken, another 
left ; the foolish virgins shall be left. How shall those 
much-professors and merit-workers, those who have been 
seeking for salvation by the sweat of their brow, be dis- 
appointed ? The foolish virgins do not go in ; the door 
will be shut when they come to enter ; they will cry with 
prayers, such as they had never put up before, M Lord, 
Lord, open to us." " I know you not," says the Lord : 
the door is shut. 

But our blessed Lord did not leave the subject here. 
Having finished that parable, he commenced another to 
cany on the same important information, and to enlarge 
upon the very point we are considering — the judgment 
then to take place. 

" For the kingdom of heaven" (this should rather be 
" the Son of man," which is distinctly the sense of the 
Greek) "is as a man travelling into a far country, who 
called his own servants, and delivered unto them his 
goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another 
two, and to another one ; to every man according to his 
several ability ; and straightway took his journey. Then 
he that had received the five talents went and traded 
with the same, and made them other five talents. And 
likewise he that had received two, he also gained other 
two. But he that had received one went and digged in 
the earth, and hid his lord's money. After a long time, 
the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with 
them." (Matt. xxv. 14 — 19.) In this parable, " his own 
servants" represent the ten virgins of the former one, and 



THE JUDGMENT OF THE LIVING. 



229 



enlarged instruction is afforded us. We learn, especially, 
that when the " Lord of those servants cometh," he 
" reckoneth with them/' We know that the Lord will 
come in the clouds ; we know that he will call his saints, 
the quick and the dead ; we know that the professors who 
have lamps with no oil in them will he left out ; and now, 
in this parahle, connected as it is with the other, we find 
that the Lord reckoneth with "his own servants.' ' We 
proceed to the result of the reckoning, " And so he that 
had received five talents came and brought other five 
talents, saving, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents ; 
behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. His 
lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful 
servant : thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will 
make thee ruler over many things : enter thou into the joy 
of thy lord. He also that had received two talents came 
and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents; 
behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. 
His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful 
servant ; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will 
make thee ruler over many things : enter thou into the 
joy of thy Lord." (Matt. xxv. 20 — 23.) Both these 
happy individuals received the same answer : " Enter 
thou into the joy of thy lord." Look now again at 
1 Thess. iv. 17, in which is found the literal key to this 
figurative statement ; this tells us, " Then we which are 
alive and remain, shall be caught up together with them 
in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air : and so shall 
we ever be with the Lord." The parable expresses this 
by the words, " Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord:" 
so that we have the judgment upon the works (not the 
persons) of the saints — the reckoning with them to 



230 



THE JUDGMENT OF THE LIVING. 



account for their talents, occurring at the time of the 
appearing of Christ in the clouds, which may thus be 
considered his judgment-seat before which we Christians 
must all appear. 

There is one talent which is given to every professor of 
Gospel truth. It is the knowledge of the truth ; — the 
privilege of being joined outwardly to the visible Church 
by baptism, with the confession by a creed which is sound 
and orthodox, is one talent. Besides this, those who 
have the unction from on high are gifted with other 
talents, which they go forth and employ for God's glory. 
But he who has nothing but the lamp without the supply 
of oil, nothing but that one talent his profession, goes 
forth into the world, and does not act upon his profession 
to the glory of God. Look at the motive which he pleads 
in the reckoning time : — " I knew thee that thou art an 
hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and 
gathering where thou hast not strawed." This is the 
motive of the law, not of the Gospel ; the motive of the 
strictness of the law's requirements, even from an incom- 
petent fallen man. The professor who tells out the 
Gospel with his Hps, yet feels not its power, its life in his 
heart; who strives to work out his own salvation, not 
knowing that it is God who worketh in us both to will and 
to do of his good pleasure ; who calculating the weight of 
this good act, and the lightness of that sin, casts them 
together and acts under the motive of the law — such a 
one finds it a very hard thing to be a Christian, and 
thinks that God is a hard master ; — that the morality of 
the Gospel is unattainably strict. His language is, "I 
knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou 
hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed : 



THE JUDGMENT OF THE LIVING. 



231 



and I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent : I walked 
ahout the world, and nobody would have known me to 
be more of a Christian than the world themselves. I 
might be seen with the worldly unbeliever, with the pro- 
fessor of this error and of that, and no one would have 
discerned the difference. I hid my talent in the world 
and then, as the Lord had said in the former parable, " I 
know thee not," so he says in this parable, " Wicked and 
slothful servant ! you knew that I was your master, you 
took me to be a hard master ; yet, though you made a 
profession that you were my servant, you did not strive to 
gain me an interest of glory upon that profession. " Then 
he pronounces the sentence against him, "Cast ye the 
unprofitable servant into outer darkness/' The contrast 
is strongly stated between the result to this, and to the 
former classes of the Lord's own servants : to them the 
word was — " Enter in;" to these, Be ye "cast out" of 
the light into darkness. 

Here, then, we have a description of a judgment upon 
different persons ; it includes the saints, they who are elect ; 
who are saved ; who are in Christ, and " no condemna- 
tion'''' can pass upon them, for their condemnation has 
passed upon Jesus, and they know it ; they are taken out of 
the influence of the law-motive ; they are placed under the 
power of the Gospel-motive ; the Holy Ghost is given to 
them ; the unction has abided on them, and they obey the 
command, "Work; occupy, till I come." Hence that 
earnest diligence ; hence all that constant striving to put 
down the evil of sin in them ; hence all that cruci- 
fying of the flesh with the affections and lusts thereof ; 
hence all that bright shining in the midst of the world. 
And when the Lord comes and opens the cloud, he will 



232 



THE JUDGMENT OF THE LIVING. 



say to each one to whom he has given these various 
talents over and above the knowledge and profession of 
the truth, " Well done, good and faithful servant ;" — thou 
hast employed thy talents for my glory ; — " Enter thou 
into the joy of thy Lord." 

When the foolish professor comes, the man who has 
done nothing with his one talent, the unregenerate, 
though baptized man, he was but the dead- weight upon 
the Church ; he was but the portrait of a Christian, 
which had nothing to do with the reality of Christian life ; 
he was not included in the book of life ; and he will 
stand outside of the door when it shall be shut. What a 
fearful prospect for him who has so lived amongst his 
neighbours and friends, as that no one could tell whether 
he were indeed one of the "peculiar people " which 
Christ came to redeem unto himself ; a people, not of the 
world while they were in the world. 

This is the judgment of the quick, which, being the 
first judgment, embraces a portion of the dead in order 
that it may include all the saints. Though this part of 
the subject is far from being exhausted,' — far even from 
being opened as would be desirable, yet time will not 
admit of more, as there remains another point to be con- 
sidered as coming under the appellation of the "judgment 
of the living." In immediate connexion with the state- 
ment made by our Lord Jesus Christ of the judgment 
upon the works of the saints at the time of his return to 
the earth, conveyed in the two parables already referred 
to, he gives an account of another solemn scene which 
must be looked upon as a "judgment of the living," in 
whatever manner his words be interpreted. It should be 
remembered, that the whole of the twenty-fifth chapter of 



THE JUDGMENT OF THE LIVING. 233 

St. Matthew's Gospel, as well as the twenty-fourth, was 
delivered as Christ's answer to the question, " When 
shall the destruction of Jerusalem he ; and what shall he 
the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?" 
After rectifying the disciples' mistakes ahout the de- 
struction of Jerusalem, Jesus replied to the main point of 
the question hy explaining what he thought fit as to His 
" coming and the end of the age. " Having stated the judg- 
ment which is to take place upon the works of the saints at 
the time of his admitting them into his glory when he comes 
in the clouds, he goes on thus, " When the Son of man shall 
come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then 
shall he sit upon the throne of his glory : and before him 
shall he gathered all nations : and he shall separate them 
one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from 
the goats ; and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, 
hut the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto 
them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, 
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation 
of the world : for I was an hungred, and ye gave me 
meat : I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink : I was a 
stranger, and ye took me in : naked, and ye clothed me : 
I was sick, and ye visited me : I was in prison, and ye 
came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, 
saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed 
thee ? or thirsty, and gave thee drink ? When saw we 
thee a stranger, and took thee in ? or naked, and clothed 
thee ? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came 
unto thee ? And the King shall answer and say unto 
them, Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it 
unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done 
it unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the 




234 



THE JUDGMENT OF THE LIVING. 



left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting 
fire, prepared for the devil and his angels : for I was an 
hungred, and ye gave me no meat : I was thirsty, and ye 
gave me no drink : I was a stranger, and ye took me not 
in : naked, and ye clothed me not : sick, and in prison, 
and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, 
saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, 
or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not 
minister unto thee ? Then shall he answer them, saving, 
Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye did it not to one 
of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these 
shall go away into everlasting punishment : hut the 
righteous into life eternal." (Matt. xxv. 31 — 46.) 

In order to understand this passage, which is empha- 
tically descriptive of a "judgment of the living," it will 
he necessary to occupy your time for a few moments in 
endeavouring, as briefly as possible, to make a condensed 
preparatory statement of the scheme which may he 
gathered from Scripture, so far as we may venture to 
state it, of the whole purpose of God in connexion with 
this judgment. In doing this, I would entreat you not 
to suppose that I would put forth with dogmatical cer- 
tainty, the interpretation which I only suggest for 
prayerful consideration, under the sense of its truth which 
has been the result of a long contemplation of it by my 
own mind. 

One very important point, which is but too little con- 
sidered, will tend to assist the symmetrical arrangement 
of the events connected with this subject. Our minds are 
apt to be engrossed by the world's recorded history, as 
though it were the all of its existence ; yet the whole 
detail of that history will not occupy more than a period 



THE JUDGMENT OF THE LIVING. 



235 



of about 7,000 years. Who is here that is sixty or 
seventy years old ? Let him look back at some important 
crisis of his life : it happened all in a day, or a week ; yet 
it affected the whole course of its current. That week of 
seven days, it was nothing ; it bore no proportion to the 
whole life ; so short was the time it occupied. The 
history of this world's life, so far as we are informed of 
it, is just as a week — 7,000 years, which is as a mere 
speck in its whole existence. Before Adam was, there 
was an eternity, during which the world was not ; and 
after the period to which we are brought at the end of 
the book of the Revelation there will be an eternity, 
during which the world will he ; for God has distinctly 
declared, that he has made the world to be inhabited. In 
the forty-fifth chapter of Isaiah (eighteenth verse) we read, 
" Thus saith the Lord that created the heavens ; God 
himself that formed the earth and made it ; he hath 
established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to 
be inhabited ; I am the Lord, and there is none else." 
Now, upon that text a great deal depends. God made 
Adam, and the earth was the kingdom which he made for 
him. He said, " Have dominion over all the works of my 
hands." This grant of dominion was repeated to Noah ; 
it was re-stated through David (Ps. viii.) ; it was pleaded 
by the Apostle to the Hebrews (Heb. ii. ) ; — the absolute 
sovereignty which God had given to man, his dominion 
over the earth. 

Of all the events which took place before the creation 
of the earth for man, we are informed but of one. There 
was a rebellion in heaven ; an archangel and a multitude 
of angels fell from their first state. We are not told any 
part of their history except what relates to ourselves ; 



236 



THE JUDGMENT OF THE LIVING. 



which is briefly this; that, from some cause or other, 
these angels looked with hatred on the new created being, 
man ; and to show their malice towards the Almighty 
Jehovah, they attempted to introduce sin into the world, 
and were permitted, for a season, to mar the lovely work 
that God had made in and for man. Now, he who made 
the world and man, might, if he judged right, annihilate 
the world, or to do with it as he might please ; but if 
there be any power existing, which, by pressure from 
without, could force a certain course of conduct on the 
Almighty, contrary to his own expressed determination, 
then he could not say, " I am Jehovah ; and there is none 
else." He is not the Almighty. If Satan prevail to 
make it a matter of absolute necessity that the world 
should not be inhabited, though Jehovah declares that he 
made it not in vain, but that he made it to be inhabited, 
it follows necessarily, that Satan is above God ; there is 
a power greater than Jehovah's which forces him from 
his purpose. But that can never be. Satan is not God, 
though the world love to make him their God ; therefore, 
the world shall be inhabited by the sons of man, as God 
intended. 

In order to restore the world exactly to what God made 
it, to what we find it in the second chapter of Genesis, 
and to make it what it shall be found millions of years 
hence, — inhabited by the children of Adam, good men, 
very good, as he made their father, and granted to man 
the sovereignty over his works, — it pleased him to pay 
an enormous price ; he gave his own Son to save the 
world, and to restore all things on the earth. Now this 
was a sacrifice infinitely greater than the amount of good 
to be attained by the restoration of the children of Adam 



THE JUDGMENT OF THE LIVING. 



237 



as Adam was made on the earth at the beginning. It 
was capable of yielding a much larger harvest of glory 
than would result merely from 6 4 the restitution of all 
things." While therefore the atonement attained this 
object, it pleased God to superadd in its results objects of 
infinitely higher glory. He has determined that there 
shall be a new being, higher than all angels, next to 
himself ; and in order to raise that new being out of the 
family of man, his own Son, equal with the Father, as 
touching his Godhead, inferior to the Father, as touching 
his manhood, gathers up with him in the manhood a 
selected number of the sons of Adam, chosen for the 
purpose of forming in the heavens an eternal memorial of 
his glory in the atonement : — men in the glorified body 
which Christ himself takes and all his saints with him. 
There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual glorified 
body such as the man Christ Jesus possesses at this 
moment ; and our vile body must be fashioned like unto 
his glorified body. But who are these persons ? The 
true Church, — the chosen ones out of the family of Adam, 
a pre-determined fore-appointed people out of every nation 
upon earth. A number which we know not ; God has 
registered the name of each in the Lamb's book of life. 
These, in God's time, shall constitute the eternal memo- 
rial and testimony of the great atonement of Christ, and 
the great victory, over Satan, which shall be established 
in the heavens. 

But the earth must have its testimony too ; and there- 
fore it pleased the Lord, in renewing the world, and 
setting it up again in the state in which we find from the 
beginning it was intended to exist, to superadd a memorial 
of Christ's glory on that earth, by choosing a nation to 



238 



THE JUDGMENT OF THE LIVING. 



whom lie will not give the glorified bodies which distin- 
guish the heavenly memorial, but who shall be distin- 
guished upon earth by the peculiar glory, that every one 
of their bodies should be temples of the Holy Ghost ; each 
individual of the nation shall be holy, sanctified by the 
fulness of that Spirit which now separates the saints from 
other men in preparation for their glorified state. The 
family and kindred out of which the Son of God has taken 
flesh shall be this holy people upon the earth, for a memo- 
rial of Christ's glory amongst the other restored genera- 
tions of the sons of Adam, whom we find, in the last 
state of the earth, spoken of as " the nations of them 
that are saved " (more properly, the saved Gentiles) 
" and the kings of the earth ;" that is, those who have 
dominion over the works of God's hands. (Rev. xxi. 24 ; 
Heb. ii. 7.) 

Time must pass to develop the human materials for 
these glorious works. There must be a chosen family ; 
they must grow up to be a nation, and so time for a few 
generations was required. In the rearing of this nation 
they continually manifested the inveteracy of sin ; yet did 
God tolerate them ; till at last, in the fulness of time, the 
Christ was born. Then began the dispensation of the 
kingdom, during which God gathers the subjects of the 
heavenly memorial of glory ; during which he converts 
his elect from all nations ; and not wanting the Jews 
again till he shall have gathered his other materials for 
the whole plan, he occupies the time in manifesting his 
displeasure against sin by pouring his wrath publicly on 
the Jews : he sends them amongst the Gentiles to be 
punished for their sins, and that punishment goes on 
whilst he is gathering his elect out of every kindred, 



THE JUDGMENT OF THE LIVING. 



239 



tongue, and people. During this time their position may 
be illustrated by a gas-lamp, the present purpose of 
which is fulfilled, but it will again be needed by-and-by ; 
therefore its light is turned down, and it remains glim- 
mering until it is wanted again ; then the Master will 
turn up the screw, and it will give its blaze of light. 
The Jews, for a certain time, were the bright light on 
the earth : God has brought low their brightness, yet not 
extinguished the flame ; they are a glimmering lamp, — a 
nation still, but giving no light ; exhibiting a spectacle 
of God's fearful judgments against sin, but not cut off 
altogether. When God requires them again, the screw 
of the lamp will be turned up, and then will that people 
brighten again into a glorious nation. In the meanwhile, 
God is gathering a people out of every nation under 
heaven : and when he has accomplished the number of 
his elect, then the Saviour will return and bind Satan, 
who has been permitted to be at large during the period 
necessary for the growth of the materials with which the 
memorials of Christ's glory are to be established. This 
delay is the opportunity of Satan, during which he goes 
about ensnaring the children of men. And even in this 
work he will be accomplishing only another memorial, a 
third testimony of the glory of Christ in the atonement ; — 
an eternal memorial in hell. In the place prepared for 
the devil and his angels, men will be foreigners, and 
their presence will be a memento of Christ's victory and 
Satan's defeat. There they will be the testimony for 
God, that Satan tried to mar his work and could not ; 
there they will remain his prisoners, to put him in mind 
that the only result of his invasion of man's dominion on 
the earth was that God got him more glory from the 



240 THE JUDGMENT OF THE LIVING. 



attempt. When, therefore, some of the elect nation 
shall have supremacy again in Jerusalem, and the elect 
saints shall have been gathered to be ever with the Lord, 
then will arise the necessity for a people with which to 
re-stock the earth. As in the case of the destruction of 
the world by the flood, it was necessary to restore the 
family of Adam, and Noah found favour in God's sight ; 
he took him with his wife, and his sons with their wives, 
and by them began afresh to people the earth ; so, when 
God shall have accomplished the number of his elect, 
and hastened his kingdom, — when the Jews, as the elect 
nation, shall be at Jerusalem, and Satan shall be bound, 
the three great memorials of the glory of the Saviour will 
have been established; — one in heaven, one on earth, 
and one in hell : — then will it be time to settle the fruits 
of Christ's victory in the restitution of all things as at 
first; — and then will he take a new stock from the 
residue of men, to be " the kings of the earth," as Adam 
was, — the nations (or Gentiles) saved. So, "when the 
Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy 
angels with him ; " at that very time, having already 
gathered every one of the elect saints who will have 
entered into the cloud, the Lord Jesus, having just 
explained how at that same crisis he had already called 
them to himself, saying, " Enter thou into the joy of thy 
Lord" to all his own servants ; — then shall he " sit upon 
the throne of his glory." If we refer to the third 
chapter of the Revelation (verse 21), we find, that ' ' To 
him that overcometh Christ will grant to sit with him in 
his throne." Having seen how the saints have entered 
into his joy, we next find the Lord Jesus sitting "upon 
the throne of his glory," and, therefore, in realizing the 



THE JUDGMENT OF THE LIVING. 



241 



glorious scene, we are to understand that the saints who 
are to share the throne of their Lord, will then be sitting 
in his throne with him. "And before him shall be 
gathered all nations." In the Greek, that which is 
translated in this place " all nations," is rravrara cdvrj. 
This word is more usually translated " Gentiles."* 
" And before him shall be gathered" navra ra eBvr] " all 
the Gentiles." It has been customary, by the interposi- 
tion of an unwarranted inference, to make the large 
assumption of a general resurrection upon this occasion ; 
but this is an inferential addition which nothing in the 
passage seems to justify. Why should we presume to 
say that there will be such a resurrection when there is 
not one word about it ? The words are very express, 
" When the Son of man shall come in his glory," then 
there shall be gathered before him all the Gentiles, — all 
the remaining people then living not previously disposed 
of in some way or other. We have had an account 
before of the true Church, the elect ; they were gathered, 
and we may see them sitting with him on the throne of 
his glory : the lost professors were cast out : from other 
parts of Scripture we may know that the Jews shall be 
again at Jerusalem, and converted, ' ' every one holy :" 
the infidel Antichrist and his armies will have been 
destroyed ; " Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of 
decision:" the apostate Church of Rome will have 
received its doom in the accomplishment of God's purpose 
of wrath. All these are accounted for. But we have 
not yet had any destination assigned to the living genera- 

* It occurs 164 times in the New Testament, and is rendered 
93 times by " Gentiles," 64 times by " nations," 5 times by 
" Heathen," and twice by " people." 

R 



242 THE JUDGMENT OF THE LIVING. 



tion of Gentiles, the people who are left upon the earth, 
who "have not heard God's fame, neither have seen his 
glory." Here the Lord gives us the account of them ; 
and tells us how he takes from them the stock with 
which he "begins the new generation of kings for the 
restored earth. 

Having thus gathered all the Gentiles, he shall separate 
them. Then he shall say to those on his right hand, 
"Come, ye blessed of my Father." And here we find 
that the act is one of grace. There is no salvation but 
by grace ; and when these Gentiles are put upon the 
right hand and stated to be blessed of God, it is as our 
Lord had before said to Peter, " Blessed art thou, Simon 
Barjona ; for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto 
thee, but my Father which is in heaven so here he 
says, " Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the 
kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the 
world ;" that is, inherit the dominion intended for the 
children of Adam when the earth was made, which none 
of his children have yet entered upon, but which you, in 
this last generation, have been chosen to possess — the 
sovereignty described in the first chapter of Genesis, 
" have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the 
fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, 
and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the 
earth." (Gen. i. 26—28; Psalm viii. 6—8; Heb. ii. 
5 — 9 ; Rev. xxi. 24.) Then comes the statement of the 
distinction by which the Lord shall have made his grace 
to appear in those whom he shall separate for this 
purpose. " For I was an hungred, and ye gave me 
meat : I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink : I was a 
stranger, and ye took me in : naked, and ye clothed me : 



THE JUDGMENT OF THE LIVING. 243 

I was sick, and ye visited me : I was in prison, and 
ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer 
him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, 
and fed thee ? or thirsty, and gave thee drink ? When 
saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in ? or naked, 
and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or 
in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall 
answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, inas- 
much as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my 
brethren, ye have done it unto me." (Matt. xxv. 35 — 40.) 
The way in which this passage is generally understood, is 
by supposing that the persons before the Lord are Chris- 
tians, and that they say, " When saw we thee in need, 
and ministered unto thee? " out of mere humility. The 
form of the speech precludes the possibility of this inter- 
pretation being satisfactory. It implies ignorance — it 
asks for information ; and our Lord addresses his reply 
to this inquiry, and not to the supposed existence of 
humility as its motive. If the subjects addressed are 
Christians, it is impossible to imagine that there could be 
any want of knowledge on the point. That could not be 
supposed of any Christian in the present state. Could 
any one of us at this moment, if the Lord were to address 
us in similar language, say, that we were not aware 
that those good works which had been done to some poor 
Christian would be considered as done to the Lord him- 
self? But if these words were addressed to some 
inhabitant of China or Japan, amongst whose countrymen 
a missionary had gone in the last days, and met persecu- 
tion, but this individual felt constrained to succour him, to 
give him drink, food, and clothing ; to receive him, though 
a foreigner, and to tend him in his distress ; then we 
R 2 

I 



244 



THE JUDGMENT OF THE LIVING. 



may understand that, when afterwards the Lord should 
sit on his bright throne, surrounded by multitudes of his 
saints on the same throne, and with the holy angels 
hovering around him as his guards, he might address this 
individual in the words, 44 Inasmuch as ye have done it 
unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done 
it unto me." It is intelligible and consistent, that, 
speaking to the astonished Gentile, and pointing to the 
glorified body of the very missionary whom he had suc- 
coured, and who would then be sitting on the Lord's 
throne beside him, the Lord might inform him for the 
first time, that what had been done to " this my brother," 
44 one of the least of these my brethren," he would con- 
sider as done to himself. 44 There you see that poor 
missionary ; you can hardly recognise him now : then he 
was a stranger, ill-treated by the Heathen, but you 
ministered to him : 4 Inasmuch as ye did it unto him, ye 
did it unto me.' " 

Then he turns to the other side, and the picture is 
reversed. He says to those who did not put forth a hand 
to help the Christians, 44 You did not give me food when 
I was hungry." 44 When, Lord?" is the question still. 
44 When did we neglect to assist thee?" And the 
answer is the same, 44 You did not minister to the poor 
missionary who was killed by the barbarous amongst 
your countrymen, you therefore did not minister to me. 
I take his case as my own, Depart, depart into everlasting 
fire." These are lost, condemned, but the others who 
were set apart by the grace of God to receive the 
kingdom which has been prepared for them from the 
creation of the earth, they are the new stock of the gene- 
ration of Adam, whom he will educate for a thousand 



THE JUDGMENT OF THE LIVING. 



245 



years, without the influence of the devil to counteract the 
effect of' a dispensation of sight. The millennial period 
seems the period for the education of the new stock of 
mankind for the restored earth without the interference 
of Satan. And then at the end of that time there will 
be a last sifting to secure what that education has done 
for them. Satan shall be let loose once more for a little 
season; he shall separate the chaff from the wheat 
amongst the Gentiles ; and final perdition shall attend all 
who are manifested as retaining any taint of the corrupt 
nature. Meanwhile Jerusalem shall be the joy and 
light of the earth ; and the Jews — the kindred of the 
man Jesus, the Son of God made man, these shall 
all be holy, — men and women, going on from generation 
to generation, and in each generation a Christian, 
spiritual, converted people : while, as to the glorified 
members of the Church, wherever the Lord Jesus is, 
there his saints shall be. Is he at the right hand of the 
Father ? they will be with him. Does he come down to 
hold his court at Jerusalem, at the feast of the taber- 
nacles? there they will be with him, for they shall "ever 
be with the Lord." 

In endeavouring to carry the mind through this great 
subject, I have felt greatly embarrassed from a sense of 
the much that I have left unsaid. In condensing the 
matter before us, I have striven to say only just enough 
to convey a coherent arrangement of the steps by which 
we are led to discover the circumstances of the judgment 
of the living, and every solemn act which partakes of that 
character. If it please God to prosper these words, so 
as to make them the occasion of exciting to a diligent 
search into the Scriptures, then you will find much more 



246 



THE JUDGMENT OF THE LIVING. 



of the subject than is ordinarily imagined. But whether 
it be so or not, let me not lose the opportunity of pressing 
upon you the practical consideration, that there certainly 
will be a judgment, and that we who are here will be the 
subjects of it. Whatever may be the doubts or diffi- 
culties of some minds, however far some may be from 
giving their assent to the course of truth now suggested, 
none will deny this fact, that the Lord Jesus Christ when 
he comes will make a separation between those who are 
merely the professors of his truth, and those who have 
the. unction of its spiritual power. All who are here 
profess to believe in Christ. There is not one present 
who can be judged as a Jew ; there is not one who can 
be judged as a Heathen. Every one of us must be tested 
by the profession of sound faith we have made even 
to-day in the worship of God. We may not all die, but we 
shall all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ, who 
will judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and 
his kingdom. We may die to-night. We may live till he 
comes. But as professors of his truth we are possessed 
of one talent ; — oh, how great a treasure compared to the 
overty of those who have it not ! Have we used it to the 
^iory of God ? What have we done with it ? Are we 
preparing to sit upon the throne with Christ? Are we 
preparing to " enter into his joy ? " Have we a foretaste 
of that joy in our earnest desire to possess it? Where 
are our affections ? Are they set upon the earth ? What 
sentence, then, will be ours, if we have the form only of 
godliness? Are they set upon things above, not upon 
things on the earth ? then is our life hid with Christ in 
God, and " when Christ who is our life shall appear, we 
shall appear with him in glory." 



THE JUDGMENT OF THE LIVING. 



247 



Then, beloved brethren, in whatever tone of feeling you 
may have received that which I have put before you, 
remember this one thing, that above and beyond all else, 
the eternal interest of your soul depends upon your pre - 
paring for that judgment, which shall be terrible to those 
who hide their talent in the earth — who make common 
cause with Mammon, and bury their profession in world- 
liness — terrible, indeed, to them ! But " there is no 
condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus/' 
Every one of you who is in Christ will be able to say, 
" Here I am, Lord, thou hast given me these talents, and 
enabled me to double them to thy glory." To them it 
shall be said, " Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord."* 

* The subject treated in this sermon is more largely considered 
m two works by the same author ; one, entitled " The Prophecy 
upon the Mount ; a practical Consideration of our Lord's own 
Statement respecting the Destruction of Jerusalem — His own 
appearing — and the End of the Age ;" and the other entitled, 
" The ultimate Object of the Redemption by Christ ;" a course of 
lectures preached at Edinburgh for the Association for Promoting 
the Study and Elucidation of the Prophetic Scriptures. 



LECTURE IX. 



THE GLORY OE ISRAEL AETER THE ADVENT. 



BY THE REY. W. R. ERE MANTLE, A.M., 

RECTOR OF CLAYDON, BUCKS. 



Isaiah LX. 19. 

" Hie Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and 
thy God thy glory.'" 

Ax opinion has extensively prevailed that the subject of 
unfulfilled prophecy forms no legitimate part of scriptural 
study for the sober and humble-minded Christian. A 
veil of mystery hides the impenetrable future from his 
view, and if he ventures to gaze upon the prospect, and 
catch some glimpses of the glowing distance, he is 
admonished not to allow his fancy or imagination to 
deceive him with vain speculations. Hence a system of 
mystical or figurative interpretation has been adopted, 
and almost imiver sally the tangible realities, which form 
the basis of prophecy, have been treated as fables or 
parables illustrative of the spiritual truths contained iu 
the Bible. We may not be surprised, therefore, if pro- 
fessing Christians have run into every extravagance of 



THE GLORY OF ISRAEL AFTER THE ADVENT. 249 

interpretation, when they follow such an indefinite and 
arbitrary principle. 

The charge which is brought against such a system, 
is not that men have ignorantly perverted the truth, but 
that they have left out a most important branch of truth, 
and consequently lost much of its power and preciousness. 
The more fully and plainly the literal sense is established, 
the more powerfully will the spiritual sense be experi- 
enced ; and in proportion as the former is slurred over, 
the value of the latter will be diminished. The real 
events of sacred history form the groundwork of spiritual 
instruction to the Church, not because they are mystical 
or supernatural, but because they are types or ensamples 
to succeeding generations. In like manner the subjects 
of prophecy are real events, and must be regarded as 
conveying spiritual lessons by the exhibition of facts. 
But supposing for a moment that all unfulfilled prophecy 
admits only of spiritual interpretation, it is necessary for 
us to define what we mean by the term spiritual, as it 
may admit of much ambiguity, and open a wide door for 
confusion and mysticism ; for what is the true limit of 
spirituality as applied to the soul and the future state ? 
Is it utterly beyond the reach of intelligent perception 
and actual experience ? If the future state of the soul 
be connected with space, and with the powers and 
sympathies of a glorified body, then the very term 
spiritual body involves the idea of physical as well as 
intellectual perception in its highest sense. We contend, 
therefore, that the future glory is a legitimate subject of 
contemplation and inquiry to an enlightened mind, and 
comes as much within the range of our present faculties 
and perceptions, as the glorified body of Jesus on the 



250 



THE GLORY OF ISRAEL 



mount of transfiguration when seen and identified by the 
apostles. 

But the point at issue is brought into a narrower 
compass, if, setting aside the lawfulness of the inquiry, 
we ask the question, how far it is possible to reduce 
the subjects of mifulfilled prophecy to the standard of 
our present perceptions ? To this we reply, that unful- 
filled prophecy contains a revelation of temporal and 
spiritual events which may be easily distinguished and 
classified ; as, for instance, one class of events belongs 
exclusively to the heavenly state ; another class to 
earthly events, subordinate to the heavenly state ; a 
third to circumstances which are connected only with a 
temporal condition. If, then, we have scriptural data 
whereon to ground an inquiry, however limited, into the 
heavenly state, how much more may we enlarge our view 
and stretch our inquiry to the utmost limit which the 
Word of God allows, concerning the future glory of the 
people of Israel. And this will appear yet more clear, 
if we compare two passages of Scripture which mark 
the distinction we have drawn. In Isaiah lxiv. 4, the 
nation of Israel prays for a renewal of temporal and 
spiritual blessings. " Since the beginning of the world 
men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither 
hath the eye seen, 0 God, beside thee, what he hath 
prepared for him that waiteth for him." The accom- 
plishment of this prayer is delayed to this hour, for it is 
evident that Israel's national punishment has not been 
removed, and we have yet to see the Lord i i turn again 
the captivity of Zion," when they will "be like unto 
men that dream." But the Apostle Paul (1 Cor. ii. 
9, 10) quotes this passage of Scripture in confirmation 



AFTER THE ADVENT. 



251 



of the spiritual privileges bestowed upon the Christian 
Church under the dispensation of grace. This, he says, 
" is revealed unto us by the Spirit,' ' showing that what 
will be revealed fully to Israel nationally, is revealed in 
part to those who live under the Gospel dispensation. 
And what will be hereafter the glory of Israel nominally, 
is given to the Christian Church as an earnest or first- 
fruits individually. 

It must, however, be confessed, that the glory of 
Israel, after the advent of our Lord, is enveloped in 
strange and sublime difficulty. Instead of entering at 
once the beautiful gate, and taking in detail the varied 
glories of the sanctuary, the mind pauses, as at the 
doorway of some newly-discovered temple, whose massive 
columns are partially buried in the sand, and whose 
fresh and curious devices fill the mind with intense 
curiosity and interest. It is a work of difficulty to clear 
away the obstacles which interrupt a connected view of 
the whole, and it requires no small effort to trace out the 
characters in detail. There is an atmosphere of grandeur 
and solemnity which humbles the soul with a sense of 
its own littleness. But if the patient traveller has met 
with his reward among the ruined sepulchres of Egyptian 
kings, and has discovered palaces underground rich in 
decoration and costly magnificence, surpassing in splendour 
the habitations of the living, how much more may the 
friend of Israel undertake a holier enterprise, and follow 
the sure guide of prophecy into the bright vision of 
things revealed, always remembering the promised aid 
of the Holy Ghost, to " show him things to come ?" 
(John xvi. 13.) 

My object in the following discourse is not to embark 



252 



THE GLORY OF ISRAEL 



the imagination on a voyage of discovery without chart 
or compass, but to trace out, as in a map laid down 
from survey made by an unerring hand, what the Word 
of inspiration has proclaimed of things hoped for in the 
glory of Israel. 

The subject divides itself into the following heads : — 

L The time of Israel's glory. 

II. The character of it. 

I. The time of Israel's glory is that which is 
given in the prospectus, viz., after the advent of Christ. 
And this I propose to prove by the following con- 
siderations : — 

There is a marked contrast in the scriptural narrative 
between the extent of blessedness to be manifested during 
the dispensation of the Gospel to the Gentiles, and that 
which is to be enjoyed under the Jewish restoration, 
proving that the one is the forerunner of the other, and 
that the purpose of God in redemption is not completed 
by the gathering out of the remnant according to the 
election of grace. In short, the day of grace stands in 
beautiful and striking contrast to the day of glory. 
What is " a light to lighten the Gentiles, is the glory of 
God's people Israel." The fall and diminishing of the 
Jew is the riches of the world — but " how much more 
his fulness." The judicial blindness of Israel opens 
the door of reconciliation, but the receiving of them 
back into favour is as life from the dead. The Gentile 
dispensation resembles the temple built by the Jews 
after their return from captivity, which only preserved 
some faint traces of that glory which had set in the 
destruction of Solomon's temple, and shadowed forth the 
rising again of that more glorious temple which shall be 



AFTER THE ADVENT. 



253 



built in the days of Messiah. " For thus saith the Lord 
of Hosts .; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake 
the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry 
land ; and I will shake all nations, and the desire of all 
nations shall come : and I will fill this house with glory, 
saith the Lord of Hosts." (Hag. ii. 6, 7.) Thus the 
building commenced by Zerubbabel, a Jew, and finished 
by Herod, a Gentile, stood for a season as a witness for 
God, but was finally laid waste until the times of restitu- 
tion. And in like manner also the Gentile dispensation, 
owing its foundation to Jewish teachers, but in after times 
reared and perfected by Gentile agency, occupies its 
portion of the Divine purpose : but the date of its con- 
tinuance is fixed, when it shall be said of it, as of Herod's 
temple, " not one stone shall be left upon another that 
shall not be cast down.' 7 And after this shaking and 
desolation of the Gentiles the temple of glory will be 
built. As then the grey streak of the day spring sheds a 
fainter light than the sun when risen in his strength, so 
the grace of the Gentile morning has no glory in this 
respect by reason of the glory that excelleth. During the 
personal absence of the Sovereign the influence of the 
Crown is reflected by delegated agency ; but, oh ! what 
will be the splendour of the day when the King appears, 
wearing his many crowns, and attended by a train of ten 
thousand times ten thousand of his saints, when every 
tongue in heaven shall say, 6 ' Thou art the King of 
Glory, 0 Christ," and when every eye in Jerusalem shall 
see the Lord to be her everlasting light, and her God her 
glory. 

2. The conclusion of the times of the Gentiles is 
marked by certain events which can only synchronize 



254 



THE GLORY OF ISRAEL 



with the commencement of the glorious era in Israel. 
For, by referring to Matt. xxiv. 14, it will he seen, that 
the preaching of the Gospel for a witness among all 
nations precedes the end. Again, verses 29, 30, the last 
great tribulation of Jerusalem precedes the coming of 
Christ. In Rev. xvi. 12 — 15, the drying up of the 
Mahommedan power, and the battle of Armageddon 
immediately precede the advent. In Isaiah xxv. 8, 9, 
and xxvi. 19, 20, the resurrection of the saints, and the 
time of indignation, are placed as coincident with the 
advent ; hut it is declared (Rom. xi. 25), that " blindness 
in part is happened unto Israel, until the fulness of the 
Gentiles be come in ;" and again (Luke xxi. 24), " Jeru- 
salem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the 
times of the Gentiles be fulfilled." "What then is 
declared of her glory ? In Ps. cii. 13, 16, the answer is 
given: " Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion ; 
for the time to favour her, yea, the set time, is come. 
When the Lord shall build up Zion, he shall appear in 
his glory." Until therefore the standard of the Gospel 
he lifted up amongst all nations, — and all these things 
be accomplished, — the drying up of the Mahommedan 
power, — the last tribulation of Jerusalem, — the resurrec- 
tion of the saints, — the battle of Armageddon, — and the 
coming of the Lord, there will be no glory for Israel. 

3. The occupation of the saints with Christ in the first 
resurrection affords another proof that the glory of Israel 
will be after the advent. For it is evident that the 
Church of the first-born whose names are written in 
heaven, and whose abode is in the many mansions of the 
heavenly Jerusalem, will not be in a state of unconscious- 
ness as to the events which are passing in the earthly 



AFTER THE ADVENT. 



255 



Jerusalem. If it be true that the saints will judge the 
earth, that " the disciples of Christ will sit upon thrones 
judging the twelve tribes of Israel," that " the kingdom, 
and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under 
the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the 
saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting 
kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him" 
(Dan. vii. 27) ; if it be true at the present moment that 
angels, and principalities, and powers in heavenly places, 
take cognisance of events passing in the Church militant 
here below, it is not unreasonable to believe that the 
saints of the first resurrection will behold with joy and 
praise unutterable the triumphs of the Redeemer in 
executing his vengeance upon the Heathen, and punish- 
ments upon the people ; when he binds their kings with 
chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron ; and executes 
upon them the judgment written ; when Israel shall 
rejoice in him that made him, and the children of Zion 
are joyful in their king. (Ps. cxlix. 5 — 9.) 

4. But a fourth proof is to be found in the passage 
from which the text is taken, and which demands a 
separate and more detailed examination. For unless 
there be clear and incontrovertible evidence in the 
harmony of Scripture that the present view is not only 
reasonable and possible, but according to truth, it might 
seem to be begging the question to argue from facts, 
which, in the minds of some, have not an immediate or 
necessary connexion with the literal glory of Israel. I 
proceed, then, to detach a few points from the statements 
of prophecy respecting the Jewish people in particular, 
and to show, by comparison with the context and parallel 
passages, that until certain events, standing in immediate 



256 



THE GLORY OF ISRAEL 



and necessary connexion with the second advent of 
Christ, are fulfilled, the glory of Israel will not be 
complete. 

And first, I notice, that the advent of Christ in humi- 
liation had the effect of setting the hearts of the children 
against the fathers, of producing division in the heart of 
Israel, and cutting in twain the bond of national unity ; 
but before the coming of the great and terrible day of the 
Lord, Elijah the prophet must appear, " crying in the 
wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make 
straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every 
valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall 
be made low : and the crooked shall be made straight, 
and the rough places plain : and " then " the glory of the 
Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together." 
(Isaiah xl. 3 — 5 ; Malachi iv. 4, 5.) So that there 
must be a preparation of heart in Israel before the 
glory of the Lord rises upon her. 

Secondly, I gather generally from the prophecies that 
in the last days a large number of Jews will assemble at 
Jerusalem and in the Holy Land, in different states of 
religious feeling ; some Rabbinic Pharisees, seeking the 
re-estabhshment of the Mosaic ceremonial, with other 
traditions and commandments of men ; some Infidel 
Sadducees, mocking at the idea of a spiritual revival, and 
making terms of peace with the nations, intermarrying, 
and adopting their customs ; some turning to the law and 
to the testimony, and remembering the law of Moses, 
which God commanded him in Horeb for all Israel, with 
the statutes and judgments ; some, too, and that a little 
flock, clinging around the cross of the Redeemer, and 
waiting in humble patience for the consolation of Israel, 



AFTER THE ADVENT. 



257 



when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence 
of the Lord. Meanwhile, the extraordinary character of 
the people, the peculiar influence committed to them hy 
reason of temporal prosperity, the mystery which encircles 
their law and hahits, their history, past and present, will 
attract the severest malice and jealousy of him whose 
attacks are specially directed against the chosen of God, 
who stands at the right hand of the anointed one to resist 
him, and would retain the hrand of Jerusalem in the 
burning for ever. (Zech. iii. 1, 2.) Hence the nations, 
like Pharaoh's hosts under somewhat similar circum- 
stances, will come against the city of Zion, and fill the 
land like an overflowing flood ; this is the time of 
Jacob's trouble, but he shall be saved out of it, for 
" the Lord of hosts shall come down to fight for Mount 
Zion, and for the hill thereof. As birds flying, so will 
the Lord of hosts defend Jerusalem ; defending also he 
will deliver it ; and passing over he will preserve it." 
(Isa. xxxi. 4, 5.) This will be the period of Anti- 
christian and Heathen judgment, the false and faithless 
of Judah and Benjamin will be brought to humiliation, 
and confession, and conversion, by the immediate revela- 
tion of the Lord ; and the rumour will spread through 
the world, that the Lord is returned to Jerusalem with 
mercy, and that her King is in the midst of her. The 
outcasts of Israel will now assemble themselves and set 
their faces towards Zion. " They will fly as a cloud, and 
as doves to their windows " (Isa. lx. 8) ; and the Lord 
will plead with them face to face, and purge out the 
rebels, and bring them into the land. (Ezek. xx. 35 — 38.) 
Then, and not till then, when the twelve tribes shall be 

s 



258 



THE GLORY OF ISRAEL 



restored and converted, with their King at their head, will 
the full glory of Israel he seen. (Micah ii. 13.) 

I proceed to illustrate this sketch hy the context and 
parallel passages. 

1. In the fifty-ninth chapter of Isaiah, a state of 
ahounding and overflowing wickedness is described ; — the 
enemy of Israel coming in like a flood, and the Spirit of 
the Lord raising up a standard against him. The Lord, 
clothed in garments of vengeance, and clad with zeal as a 
cloak ; according to their deeds will repay, recompence to 
his enemies, and fury to his adversaries (Isa. lix. 17, 18) ; 
while a division, or separating out, will take place in Zion, 
for " the Redeemer will come to them that turn from 
transgression in Jacoh." (Verse 20.) Then follows the 
revival of the spiritual covenant (verse 21), and in chap, lx., 
the thrilling announcement to Israel, ' ' Arise, shine ; for 
thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon 
thee." I only notice, here, that all the events which 
follow in the course of the chapter are connected with the 
glory of Israel. While darkness covers the Gentiles, the 
glory of the Lord is seen upon Israel : while Israel flows 
together, like the meeting of ten thousand tributary 
streams in a transparent lake, multitudes of converted 
Gentiles shall he carried along hy the tide, and shall 
come up with acceptance upon God's altar, and he will 
glorify the house of his glory. If the ships of Tarshish 
are first to bring the sons of Zion home, it is because the 
Lord hath glorified her. If the glory of Lebanon shall 
come with its rich and fragrant beauty, it is because the 
Lord will make the place of his feet glorious. If the sun 
is no more a light by day, nor the moon by night, it is 



AFTER THE ADVENT. 



259 



because the Lord is her everlasting light, and her God 
her glory. Compare this order of events with Jeremiah 
xxx. and xxxi., and we have the same arrangement, 
(verses 4, 5,) " We have heard a voice of trembling, of 
fear, and not of peace. Alas ! for that day is great, it is 
even the time of Jacob's trouble. For it shall come to 
pass in that day, that I will break his yoke from off thy 
neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no 
more serve themselves of him : but they shall serve the 
Lord their God, and David their king, whom I will raise 
up unto them." Again, (verse 19,) " Out of them shall 
proceed thanksgiving and the voice of them that make 
merry : and I will multiply them, and they shall not be few ; 
I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small." 

Take, again, Ezekiel xxxvii., xxxviii., and xxxix., and 
we trace the destruction of the confederate armies of 
Gog and Magog, the gathering of the two families of 
Judah and Israel, the appearing of Christ, the pouring 
out of the Spirit, and the glory of Zion. For, saith the 
Lord (xxxix. 21, 22), "I will set my glory among the 
Heathen, and all the Heathen shall see my judgment that 
I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them. 
So the house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord 
their God from that day and forward." 

I pass from these to one or two plain revelations in the 
minor prophets. In Joel ii. and iii. one cannot but 
remark the close resemblance to the expressions in Jere- 
miah and Isaiah already quoted. It is a day of darkness ; 
- — the enemy is strong. " There hath not been ever the 
like, neither shall be any more after it." " Before their 
face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall 
gather blackness." " And the Lord shall utter his voice 
s 2 



260 



THE GLORY OF ISRAEL 



before his army [of saints] : for his camp is very great : 
for he is strong that executeth his word : for the day of 
the Lord is great and very terrible ; and who can abide 
it ?" Then follows the turning from transgression ; fasting, 
weeping, and praying ; and the Lord does great things ; — 
the Spirit, who was poured out as an earnest and first- 
fruits on the day of Pentecost, is now given abundantly ; — 
" In Mount Zion and in Jerusalem is deliverance." The 
heavens and the earth shake, the sun and the moon are 
darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining; — " But 
the Lord is the hope of his people, and the strength of 
the children of Israel." In Zephaniah, the prophet strikes 
the same chord (chap. hi. 8, 9) ; " My determination is to 
gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to 
pour upon them my indignation, even all my fierce anger : 
for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my 
jealousy. For then will I turn to the people a pure 
language, that they may call upon the Lord with one 
consent." Israel is humbled. " I will leave in the 
midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall 
trust in the name of the Lord ;" — " the remnant of Israel 
shall not speak lies." Then, " Sing, 0 daughter of Zion ; 
the Lord hath taken away thy judgments ; he hath cast 
out thine enemy : the King of Israel, even the Lord, is 
in the midst of thee : thou shalt not see evil any more." 

Once more. In Zechariah, a prophecy delivered after 
the return from the Babylonish captivity (chapters xii. and 
xiii.), ' ' Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling 
unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the 
siege, both against Judah and against Jerusalem." " In 
that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come 
against Jerusalem. I will pour upon the house of David, 



AFTER THE ADVENT. 



261 



and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace 
and of supplications : and they shall look upon me whom 
they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him as one 
mourneth for his only son." And when the tribulation 
rises to its height, " I will bring the third part through 
the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will 
try them as gold is tried : they shall call on my name, 
and I will hear them : I will say, It is my people : and 
they shall say, The Lord is my God." " Then shall the 
Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he 
fought in the day of battle." " The Lord my God shall 
come, and all the saints with thee." "And the Lord 
shall be king over all the earth ; in that day shall there 
be one Lord, and his name one." 

And what shall I say more ? for time would fail me to 
tell what David, and Daniel, and Hosea, and Habakkuk, 
and Micah, Amos, and Malachi, have added to this 
consent of the prophets. Let the test applied to patristic 
truth by modern theologians be applied to the books 
of the prophets, and it will be found that the crashing 
judgments at the close of the Gentile dispensation, and 
the coming of our blessed Lord, are described, semper et 
ubique et ab omnibus, as the beginning of Israel's glory. 
Nay, we go further, and say, that this is the only key by 
which the varied and isolated notes of prophecy, uttered 
by different voices, and at different ages of the Church, 
can be brought into one scale of harmony. 

II. Having thus disposed of the chronological difficulty 
which might check further inquiry, I proceed to point out 
more specifically, the character of Israel's glory; 
and shall content myself with an exhibition of facts, 
rather than of the order in which they occur ; although I 



262 



THE GLORY OF ISRAEL 



hope to be able, in some measure, to remove objections 
which are raised against what is termed the detail of 
events after the coming of Christ. 

1. The first great and glorious fact is the reunion and 
restoration of the twelve tribes, acknowledging Messiah to 
be their king. 

The head and front of Israel's offence from the beain- 
ning was, the rejection of the Lord as then- King, The 
punishment of treason and rebellion has rested upon them, 
and will rest, until thej acknowledge him whom they 
crucified to be the King of the Jews. Their piinishment 
consisted in their subjection to earthly monarchs, the 
revolt and division of the nation, the enmity between 
Israel and Judah, and the final overthrow of the 
monarchy itself. Such is the description of the Psalmist : 
' ' Thou hast cast off and abhorred, thou hast been wroth 
with thine anointed. Thou hast made void the covenant 
of thy servant : thou hast profaned his crown by casting it 
to the ground. Thou hast made his glory to cease, and 
cast his throne down to the ground." (Ps. lxxxix. 38, 
39, 44.) But the promise made to David shall not fail: 
"Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne." 
" Unto which promise the twelve tribes, instantly serving 
God day and night, hope to come." (Acts xxvi. 7.) 
But where is the resting-place for faith except in the 
promise ? Look into the valley of the dry bones, what 
shall rouse these dead, and gather up the mouldering 
remains? Who shall find out the outcasts in their 
hiding-places, and identify the dispersed in their wander- 
ings ? What human ingenuity, or study, or research, can 
follow out the generations of Israel since the captivities, 
and decipher the mark of individuality, so as to separate 



AFTER THE ADVENT. 



263 



them from their fellow-men? True it is, that the 
descendants of Abraham in these western climes, and in 
those countries where they sojourn and traffic as strangers 
and foreigners, are well known, and easily distinguished ; 
hut we must remember, that there are millions of 
Israelites in the world, somewhere, who are not known ; 
and who is he that can put their identity beyond dispute ? 
When, therefore, the pride of man's wisdom is laid low, 
and the only alternative for the disputant is simple faith 
in the revelation of God's Word or open blasphemy 
against it, we present the glorious solution of the enigma 
in the restoration of the tribes by the Lord himself : " He 
who scattered Israel shall gather him." (Jer. xxxi. 10.) 
"As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he 
is among his sheep that are scattered ; so will I seek 
out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places 
where they have been scattered in the cloudy and 
dark day." (Ezek. xxxiv. 12.) "And I will make 
them one nation in the land upon the mountains of 
Israel ; and one king shall be king to them all : and they 
shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be 

divided into two kingdoms any more at all And 

David my servant shall be king over them : they shall 
also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and 
do them." (Ezek. xxxvii. 22, &c.) Neither will this be 
the work of a moment, or, as some have imagined, a 
direct miracle ; there will be order in the train of events, 
and certain means will be used. For, if we do not 
mistake, the Lord will save the tents of Judah first, that 
the glory of the house of David, and the glory of the 
inhabitants of Jerusalem, do not magnify themselves 
against Judah ; i. e., that the individual family or city 



264 



THE GLORY OF ISRAEL. 



do not exalt themselves above the tribe and its many 
dwelling-places. (Zech. xii. 7.) He will then manifest 
himself as the Redeemer, who was dead and is alive, to 
the house of David, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, 
who will mourn, and be in bitterness, as one that is in 
bitterness for his first-born. Then the whole land will be 
filled with penitential sorrow, and all Jerusalem will go to 
be baptized in the fountain opened for sin and for un- 
cleanness. Judah shall rule with God, and be faithful 
with his saints. Meanwhile the voice of the Lord will be 
mighty in operation ; the glad tidings shall spread, and 
bring together the long lost tribes of Ephraim. They 
shall come forth, as from Egypt of old, with great sub- 
stance, with a mighty hand, and a stretched-out arm. 
As by a prophet the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt, 
and by a prophet was he preserved (Hos. xii. 13), so it is 
probable Elijah will bring the ten tribes into the wilder- 
ness, where, as upon Mount Carmel, the Lord will plead 
with them face to face, and will cause them to pass under 
the rod, and bring them into the bond of the covenant, 
and will purge out the rebels and them which transgress 
against him, and they shall know that he is the Lord. 
(Comp. Ezek. xx. 37, &c. ; Hos. ii. 14; Mic. vi. 2—5.) 
Thus will all the children of Jacob come, bending with 
supplication and godly sorrow, saying, " We are verily 
guilty concerning this our brother, in that we saw the 
anguish of his soul when he besought us, and we would 
not hear." The astonished Heathen will admire the 
bounty and compassion of the true Joseph, who will wipe 
all tears from their faces, and make them sit down at his 
feast. Then will the covenant be renewed, " I will put 
my laws in their hearts, and in their minds I will write 



AFTER THE ADVENT. 



265 



them ; and their sins and iniquities will I remember no 
more." ' (Heb. x. 16, 17.) And then will their mouth 
be filled with laughter, and their tongue with singing: 
then will they say among the Heathen, the Lord hath 
done great things for them. 0 wondrous grace, and 
glorious condescension! What tongue shall express the 
blessedness of that day, when all the tribes shall be 
assembled, and every heart beat high with holy love, 
Ephraim saying, What have I to do any more with idols ? 
and Judah walking with the house of Israel. Ephraim 
shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim, 
when the earth shall be in travail to bring forth the nation 
of God's peculiar choice and favour ; and when it shall 
be said, "Rejoice, 0 ye Gentiles, with his people." 
6 ' Lift up thine eyes, and see ; all they gather themselves 
together, they come unto thee." "The sons of them 
that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee ; all they 
that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the 
soles of thy feet ; and call thee, The city of the Lord, 
The Zion of the Holy One of Israel." (Isa. lx. 14.) 
Oh! if it be our privilege to partake of heavenly joy, — if 
it be in our hearts to sympathize with angels in their 
praise and gratitude when one sinner turns from the 
error of his ways, — how much more shall the heart of 
redeemed and risen saints fill all heaven with acclamation 
when twelve tribes of penitent Jews cast themselves at 
the feet of Immanuel, and repeat that chapter which has 
been for centuries rejected by the nation: "All we like 
sheep have gone astray ; we have turned every one to his 
own way ; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of 
us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted : he was 
despised, and we esteemed him not? " (Isa. liii.) When, 



266 



THE GLORY OF ISRAEL 



too, this song will be sung in the land of Judah, " 0 
Lord, I Trill praise thee : though thou wast angry with 
me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me. 
Behold, God is my salvation ; I will trust, and not be 
afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my 
song; he also is become my salvation." (Isa. xii. 1, 2.) 
" Surely shall one (and all) say, In the Lord, have I 
righteousness and strength: for in the Lord shall all the 
seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory." (Isa. xlv. 
24, 25.) Thus the people shall be all righteous ; and the 
number of Israel as many as the sand upon the sea- 
shore, or as the stars of the heaven for multitude. " The 
children of Israel shall return, and seek the Lord their 
God, and David (the beloved) their King." (Hos. iii. 5.) 

2. But a second great fact, connected with the glory 
of Israel, is the restitution and division of the land of 
promise by lot. 

The prophet Obadiah, having described the judgment 
of the Heathen, in verses 15 and 16, adds, verse 17, 
"But upon Mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there 
shall be holiness ; and the house of Israel shall possess 
their possessions;" or, in other words, shall inherit the 
grant made to their forefather Abraham. We have only 
to refer to the terms of this grant, and we shall find that 
it includes a considerably larger extent of territory than 
ever has been yet possessed by the nation of Israel. 
Thus, in Gen. xv. 18, the Lord made a covenant with 
Abraham, saying, " Unto thy seed have I given this land, 
from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river 
Euphrates." Again, in Exod. xxiii., and Deut. xi. 24, 
the grant is renewed: " Every place whereon the soles of 
your feet shall tread shall be yours ; from the wilderness 



AFTER THE ADVENT. 



267 



and Lebanon, from the river, the river Euphrates, even 
unto the uttermost sea shall your coast be. There shall 
no man be able to stand before you." Now it is evident, 
that Israel never yet possessed so large a portion ; for 
under Joshua and Solomon, the extent of the land east- 
ward was Jordan, and the allotments of two tribes and 
a-half eastward of it. Beyond this boundary lay the pos- 
session of their enemies. For in the days of David and 
Solomon, the Psalmist spake of Israel's enemies, who 
said, " Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation. 
For they have consulted together with one consent ; and 
are confederate against thee : the tabernacles of Edom, 
and the Ishmaelites ; of Moab, and the Hagarenes ; 
Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek ; the Philistines, with 
the inhabitants of Tyre ; Assur also is joined with them : 
they have holpen the children of Lot." (Psalm lxxxiii. 
4 — 8.) The border of Israel at that time was, therefore, 
limited; and although (L Kings iv. 24) Solomon kept 
many nations under tribute, they were not cast out or 
dispossessed of their territory : but in the day of the true 
David, it shall be said of Israel (Isa. xlix. 19) " Thy 
waste and desolate places, and the land of thy destruc- 
tion, shall even now be too narrow, by reason of the 
inhabitants. The children which thou shalt have, after 
thou hast lost the other, shall say again in thine ears, 
The place is too strait for me : give place to me that I 
may dwell." And again (Isa. liv. 1, 2), " Sing, 0 barren, 
thou that didst not bear ; break forth into singing, and 
cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child : for more 
are the children of the desolate than the children of the 
married wife, saith the Lord. Enlarge the place of thy 
tent, and let thera stretch forth the curtains of thine 



268 



THE GLORY OF ISRAEL 



habitations : spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen 
thy stakes; for thou shalt break forth on the right 
hand and on the left ; and thy seed shall inherit the 
Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.'' 
Then shall the word be fulfilled (Psalm lx. 6), " I vail 
rejoice, and divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of 
Succoth. Gilead is mine, Manasseh is mine ; Ephraini 
also is the strength of mine head ; Judah is my lawgiver ; 
Moab is my washpot ; over Edom will I cast out my 
shoe: Philistia, triumph thou because of me." Then 
shall Balaam's prophecy be accomplished, — " The star of 
Jacob, and the sceptre of Israel, shall literally smite the 
corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth. 
And Edom shall be a possession for his enemies ; and 
Israel shall do valiantly." (Numb. xxiv. 17, 18.) In 
short, the division mentioned by Ezekiel will then be 
made : when (chap, xlvii. 13) " This shall be the border, 
whereby ye shall inherit the land according to the twelve 
tribes of Israel. And ye shall inherit it, one as well as 
another : concerning the which I lifted up mine hand to 
give it unto your fathers. And this shall be the border." 
Observe, From the Mediterranean to the Euphrates ; 
from the western sea to the eastern sea ; the same word 
being applied to both, as in Jer. li. 36. " And the 
Levites shall have a portion : and five tribes shall be 
south of Judah ; and the stranger shall be permitted to 
purchase an inheritance:" an arrangement totally dif- 
ferent from any former disposition of the land. Then, 
indeed, will "the wilderness and the solitary place ,be 
glad for them ; and the desert rejoice, and blossom as 
the rose. When the glory of Lebanon is given unto 
it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see 



AFTER THE ADVENT. 



269 



the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God." 
(Isa. xxxv. 1, 2.) " Then the mountains shall drop down 
new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and 
all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a 
fountain shall come forth of the house of the Lord, and 
shall water the valley of Shittim." Then (Joel iii. 18) 
" Shall they heat their swords into plowshares, and their 
spears into pruning-hooks :" * 4 nation shall not lift up a 
sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any 
more." (Isa. ii. 4.) "But they shall sit every man 
under his vine and under his fig-tree ; and none shall 
make them afraid."* (Micah iv. 3, 4.) " They shall 
not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain : for the 
earth shall he full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the 
waters cover the sea." (Isa. xi. 9.) "Violence shall no 
more he heard in thy land ; wasting nor destruction 
within thy borders. The Lord shall be unto thee an 
everlasting light, and thy God thy glory." (Isa. Ix. 
18, 19.) 

3. The third great fact connected with the glory of 
Israel, is the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the re-establish- 
ment of its civil or political privileges, as the city of the 
great King. 

Whatever rebuilding of the old wastes, and repairing 
of breaches, may take place before the advent of Christ, 
it is clear, from what has been already urged, that in the 
day of the great siege there will be a sore destruction of 
the city ; and, therefore, if Jerusalem is hereafter to be 
literally the city of the Lord, it must be rebuilt and 
enlarged. We interpret, therefore, literally, the promises 
in Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, and Zechariah ; and venture to 
give it as our deliberate judgment, that the city in, 
* See also Zech. viii. 12. 



270 



THE GLORY OF ISRAEL 



Ezekiel is not the same as that described in Revelation ; 
the one being a description of the earthly, the other of 
the new, or heavenly Jerusalem. 

In confirmation of this view, I will quote the authority 
of Mede, who says, "that the measures in Ezekiel being 
diverse from those of St. John in the Apocalypse, if the 
cities be the same, the numbers must also be the same." 
But this is not the case ; and unless we adopt a mystical 
instead of a literal interpretation, we cannot meet the 
overwhelming difficulty which presents itself in the last 
ten chapters of Ezekiel, — a portion of Scripture which 
one of its best commentators acknowledges to be utterly 
beyond the scope of scriptural or figurative interpreta- 
tion. (Greenhill.) 

This, then, is the language of Scripture — " Behold, 
the days come, saith the Lord, that the city shall be 
built unto the Lord, from the tower of Hananeel 
unto the gate of the corner. And the measuring-line 
shall yet go forth over against it upon the hill Gareb, 
and shall compass about to Goath. And the whole valley 
of the dead bodies (Hinnom), and of the ashes, and all 
the fields unto the brook Kidron, unto the corner of the 
horse gate towards the east, shall be holy unto the Lord ; 
it shall not be plucked up nor thrown down any more for 
ever." (Jer. xxxi. 38 — 40.) Again, in Jer. xxxiii. 16, — 
" In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall 
dwell safely : and this is the name wherewith she shall be 
called, The Lord our Righteousness." Once more, 
Zech. xiv. 10,' — "All the land shall be turned as a plain 
from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem : and it shall 
be lifted up and inhabited in her place from Benjamin's 
gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, 
and from the tower of Hananeel unto the King's wine- 



AFTER THE ADVENT. 



271 



presses. And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be 
no more utter destruction ; but Jerusalem shall be safely 
inhabited." 

Now, it might be argued from Jer. xxx. 18, and 
Zech. xii. 6, that Jerusalem was builded and inhabited in 
her own place and on her own heap ; but the mention of 
these localities proves that the prediction has never yet 
been fulfilled ; for it will be evident to every one ac- 
quainted with the situation of Jerusalem, that if the pro- 
phecy is to be realized Jerusalem will be an immense 
city — in the day of her glory the largest city that ever 
was actually built. For if the dimensions given by 
Ezekiel be taken, the measurement will nearly equal 
the proposed area of Babylon, which was never com- 
pleted. And if this be a startling or incredible fact 
with us, we must remember the Lord has anticipated 
the thoughts of our heart when he said, — " There shall 
yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jeru- 
salem, and every man with his staff in his hand for every 
age ; and the streets of the city shall be full of boys and 
girls playing in the midst thereof. Thus saith the Lord 
of hosts ; If it be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant 
of this people in these days, should it also be marvellous 
in mine eyes ? saith the Lord of hosts." (Zech. viii. 4.) 
Nor is this all ; for as the city will be great so it will be 
beautiful. " Jerusalem is builded as a city that is com- 
pact together. There are set thrones of judgment, the 
thrones of the house of David." (Ps. cxxii.) "God is 
known in her palaces for a refuge." (xlviii. 3.) " Walk 
about Zion, and go round about her ; tell the towers 
thereof ; mark ye well her bulwarks ; consider her 
palaces." (Ps. xlviii. 12, 13.) 44 1 will lay thy stones 



272 



THE GLORY OF ISRAEL 



with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires. 
And I will make thy windows with agates, and thy gates 
of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones.' * 
(Isa. liv. 11, 12.) " For brass I will bring gold, and for 
iron I will bring silver, and for wood brass, and for stones 
iron. And the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, 
and their kings shall minister unto thee ; and they shall 
call thee, The city of the Lord, The Zion of the Holy 
One of Israel; Sought out, A city not forsaken." (Isa. 
lx. and lxii.) 

Once more. As great and beautiful, so also, a 
righteous city. The government and ordinances of it 
shall be according to the highest standard of moral 
virtue and holiness. For while heaven is God's throne, 
earth is his footstool ; and He who fills heaven and earth 
hath a delight in Jerusalem. There hath he set his 
throne ; for it is written, — " And thou, 0 tower of the flock, 
the stronghold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall 
it come, even the first dominion ; the kingdom shall come 
to the daughter of Jerusalem." (Micah iv. 8.) " And 
at that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the 
Lord." (Jer. hi. 17.) Under such a king, what must be 
the character of the subjects ? There will be order and 
executive agency ; and while the king reigns in righteous- 
ness princes will decree judgment ; " the head of the rash 
will understand knowledge ; the vile person will be no 
more called liberal, nor the churl said to be bountiful." 
(Isa. xxxii. 4.) There will be subordinate ministers and 
officers ; and as Moses appointed captains of fifties and 
captains of hundreds, so, under the King of Righteous- 
ness, there will be a captain of thousands as well as the 
captains of fifties. This, probably, is the person men- 



AFTER THE ADVENT. 



273 



tioned by Jeremiah xxx. 21, — " Their nobles shall be of 
themselves, and their governor shall proceed from the 
midst of them ; and I will cause him to draw near, and 
he shall approach unto me : for who is he that engaged 
his heart to approach unto me? saith the Lord." This 
is the prince of Ezekiel, who shall " sit in the eastern 
gate of the sanctuary and eat bread before the Lord." 
(Ezek. xliv. 3.) In his hands the details of government 
shall be arranged ; the officers shall be peace, the ex- 
actors righteousness. Violence shall no more be heard in 
the land. They shall be far from oppression, and from 
terror : thus the Lord will restore judges as at the first, 
and counsellors as at the beginning. Afterward she shall 
be called, The city of righteousness, The faithful city. 
Zion shall be redeemed with judgment and her converts 
with righteousness. (See Isa. i. 26, 27 ; Zech. viii. 3.) 

4. The fourth great fact connected with Israel's glory, 
is the revival of a pure and national form of worship in 
the rebuilding of the temple, and the adaptation of cere- 
monial observances to the spirit and principles of the 
Gospel. 

1. The rebuilding of the temple. 

If the arrangement of events thus far commends itself 
to your minds, it will be following the same order if we 
place the rebuilding of the temple after the advent. 
Ezekie and Isaiah both place the building of the beautiful 
sanctuary after the reunion of the two families of Judah 
and Israel. And if this be the case, it is only advancing 
one step further to say, that the pattern of the temple 
given to Ezekiel forms the design and working plan of 
the temple which shall be built in the days of Messiah. 
I will not, therefore, enter into any minute detail of the 

T 



274 



THE GLORY OF ISRAEL 



measurement and architectural arrangement, but observe 
how entirely it will differ both in size and proportions 
from those built by Solomon and Zerubbabel. If in them 
there was lavish expenditure of gold and silver, the glory 
of Lebanon shall not be wanting, nor the fir-tree, nor the 
pine, nor the box, nor silver, nor gold, nor precious stones, 
for the glory of this latter house shall be greater than of 
the former, saith the Lord of hosts. If gifts and presents 
abounded in the days of Solomon, and contributions 
poured in from every quarter towards the building of his 
temple, how much more, when all the earth will be laid 
under a levy of voluntary love and emulation to rear the 
glorious temple of Jehovah-Jesus ; when the kings of 
Tarshish and of the isles will bring their presents ; and 
the kings of Sheba and Seba will offer gifts : when he 
shall live, and to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba. 
(Ps. lxxii.) " Because of thy temple at Jerusalem shall 
kings bring presents unto thee. Rebuke the company of 
spearmen, the multitude of the bulls, with the calves of 
the people, till every one submit himself with pieces of 
silver ; scatter thou the people that delight in war. 
Princes shall come out of Egypt ; ^Ethiopia shall soon 
stretch out her hands unto God." (Ps. lxviii.) 

If the presence of Jehovah shone in the Shechinah's 
mysterious light, and the glory of the Lord appeared in 
the cloud above the cherubim, how much more, when the 
glory of the God of Israel come from the east, and his 
voice be like a noise of many waters, and the earth shall 
shine with his glory, and when the glory of the Lord 
shall come into the house and fill it. But the services 
of the sanctuary shall be conducted in a manner 
corresponding to this external and visible splendour, 



AFTER THE ADVENT. 



275 



and the worship of the Lord shall be in the beauty of 
holiness. ' 

2. This will consist in the establishment of a spiritual 
priesthood. 

For when the messenger of the covenant comes to his 
temple, " he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver : 
and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as 
gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an 
offering in righteousness. Then shall the offering of 
Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord." (MaL 
iii. 3 — 5.) And here I take occasion to notice the spirit 
of the new dispensation, as expressed by Ezek. xliv. 10 ; 
for " the Levites which went astray after their idols, shall 
bear their iniquity ; yet shall they be ministers in the 
sanctuary, having charge at the gates of the house ; 
while the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of the 
sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray, shall 
enter into the sanctuary, and come near to the table, and 
minister unto the Lord, and keep all his charge. They 
shall teach the people the difference between the holy and 
profane, and cause them to discern between the clean and 
the unclean ; and in controversy they shall stand in 
judgment ; and they shall judge it according to my 
judgment : and they shall keep my laws and my statutes 
in all my assemblies, and they shall hallow my Sabbaths." 
How exactly does this fall in with every sympathy of our 
hearts, under the dispensation of the Gospel ! What 
could we desire better for Israel, than that the law which 
is holy, just, and good, should be practically brought out 
and exhibited under the influence of spiritual life ? And 
what more likely to exalt the glory of Immanuel, when 
all that holy obedience which was so conspicuous in Jesus, 
T 2 



276 



THE GLORY OF ISRAEL 



in his conformity to ceremonial and spiritual observances, 
shall be reflected in the conformity of the restored priest- 
hood to his pattern ? Nor, again, are we without evidence 
that there will be an actual change of some parts of the 
Mosaic system, for it seems plain that, 

3dly, The Sabbath will be changed from the seventh 
to the first day, even as it has been since the resurrection 
of our Lord. 

In Ezek. xliii. 26, it is commanded, that the priests 
shall purge the altar seven days, and purify it ; and then 
shall consecrate themselves. And when these days are 
expired, it shall be upon the eighth day, viz., the first day 
of the next week, and so forward, the priest shall make 
the burnt-offerings upon the altar, and the peace-offerings, 
and God will accept them. Thus, the legal ceremonies 
will be celebrated upon the day of the resurrection of 
Christ ; and thus, when the priests are clothed with salva- 
tion, the people shall shout aloud for joy. Prayer shall 
be made continually, and daily shall he be praised. Then 
the song of thank sowing in Ps. lxvi. shall resound through 
the temple aisle, — " Thou, 0 God, hast proved us : thou 
hast tried us, as silver is tried. Thou hast caused men 
to ride over our heads ; we went through fire and through 
water : but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place. 
We will go into thy house with burnt- offerings : I will 
pay thee my vows, which my lips have uttered, and my 
mouth hath spoken, when I was in trouble. I will offer 
unto thee burnt- sacrifices of fatlings, with the incense of 
rams ; I will offer bullocks with goats." 

And this forms the fourth and last feature, viz., the 
renewal of sacrificial worship. 

And here I must pause a few moments, to meet the 



AFTER THE ADVENT. 



277 



objection of those who would set aside the whole view 
which has been taken, npon the ground that sacrifices 
never can be renewed, as being inconsistent with the 
Gospel dispensation. In stating my reasons for adopting 
the present view, I must claim indulgence, under the 
conviction that I speak even with fear and trembling upon 
so difficult and sublime a subject. 

It appears to me, that worship as accepted by God, 
and worship as offered by man, are widely different. 
God is, and has been, worshipped in a very great variety 
of forms ; but worship by any individual man, or class of 
men, is confined to the use of those forms and means 
which are revealed by God. Hence, it follows, that 
while the form of worship is revealed, it is the duty and 
privilege of man to use it ; but it is not the form which 
constitutes the act of worship, nor the form which sancti- 
fies the worshipper ; on the contrary, it is the spirit of the 
worship which constitutes the worship, and the spirit 
of the worshipper which sanctifies the form. For " God 
is a Spirit, and they that worship him must worship him 
in spirit and in truth." Now, it is evident, that sacrifice 
was instituted from the very beginning as an act of 
worship ; and if so, was a channel for spiritual services ; 
and, consequently, if God pleased so to ordain, might be 
employed at any period of the history of the world. But 
God has ordained that it should be observed by the cir- 
cumcision, until the covenant made with the circumcision 
shall cease. And as this law has never yet been abro- 
gated, it is not unreasonable to suppose that sacrifices 
might now be employed as spiritual acts of worship by 
the Jews. But it may further be urged, that sacrifices, 
as signs or symbols for Jewish worship, admit of as 



278 



THE GLORY OF ISRAEL 



entire an adaptation to spiritual service as the ordinances 
and sacraments of the Christian Church. For the sacri- 
fice did not make the comer thereunto perfect, any more 
than the sacraments make the comer thereunto perfect. 
The sacrifice was the symbol or sign of the faith of him 
who offered it, and had respect, as a means to an end, to 
the thing signified ; and this was enjoined to the circum- 
cision. Again, the sacraments are signs and seals of 
the faith of . him who receives them, and have respect to 
the thing signified ; and these were ordained for the 
Gospel dispensation. As, then, faith in Christ makes 
the sacrament an effectual sign and seal of grace to the 
Christian, so faith in Christ makes the sacrifice effectual 
to the Jew. But faith is the same in all ages. The 
faith of Abel is precisely the same in its object, subject, 
and operation, as the faith of Paul or of Luther. If, 
then, Abel's faith rendered his sacrifice more excellent 
than that of Cain, it is evident that the difference lies not 
between the offerings in themselves — the one being meat, 
the other a slain animal — but in the spirit and intention 
with which the offerings were made ; for it is written, 
' ' God had respect unto Abel and his offering, but unto 
Cain and his offering he had not respect." Let us apply 
this to the subject under review, and we may use the 
same expressions to the restored Jew in the temple of the 
latter day. He, like Abel, offers his sacrifice, and looks 
by faith to the Lord Jesus : why shall not the Lord have 
respect unto him and his offering, which is commanded 
in the law, just as much as unto the Gentile who receives 
the sacrament, which is commanded in the Gospel ? 

But it may be asked, Is it commanded ? Assuredly. 
Turn to a prophecy relating to times subsequent to the 



AFTER THE ADVENT. 



279 



restoration of the twelve tribes, and you have the answer 
(Jer. xxxjii. 17, 18), " Thus saith the Lord; David shall 
never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of 
Israel ; neither shall the priests the Levites want a man 
before me to offer burnt- offerings, and to kindle meat- 
offerings, and to do sacrifice continually. " And in 
Ezekiel xlv., xlvi., the most minute directions as to the 
manner in which the sacrifices are to be offered, are 
given, and which, in some respects, will be found to 
differ from the details under the law of Moses. That 
these commands were considered binding upon Jews up to 
the time of the first ages of Christianity is manifest from 
the narratives in the New Testament. Our blessed 
Saviour attended the feasts and ceremonies of the temple 
with his parents. The disciples after the ascension 
' 6 returned to Jerusalem with great joy ; and were con- 
tinually in the temple, praising and blessing God." 
(Luke xxiv. 53.) Some time after this at Jerusalem 
Paul submitted to certain ceremonies of the law, because 
there were many thousands of Jews which believed, and 
were all zealous for the law. And he took the four men 
who had a vow on them, and purifying himself with them, 
entered into the temple to signify the accomplishment of 
the days of purification, until that an offering should be 
offered for every one of them. (Numb. vi. 14, 15.) Now 
let us ask, How did Paul understand sacrifice ? He 
offered sacrifice after he was converted. He kept the 
feast at Jerusalem. He came to bring alms to his nation 
and offerings ; and would he, as a Christian, have observed 
these ordinances, if they did not convey to his soul spiritual 
edification, and tend to the glory of God? Or, agian, 
was Paul ignorant of the true spirit of the Gospel or 



280 



THE GLORY OF ISRAEL 



Gentile dispensation ? Did he not upon one occasion 
show plainly that a ceremony was binding upon a Jew 
which was not needful for a Gentile, when he circumcised 
Timothy, the son of the Jewess, who believed (Acts xvi. 
1, 2, 3) ; but did not compel Titus to undergo that rite, 
because he was a Greek ? We see, then, that what was 
enjoined to the circumcision was obeyed by the circum- 
cision, but what belonged to the Gentiles by the Gentiles. 
Why then should not sacrifices be again observed by 
circumcised believers in the latter day ? 

Surely the rich and costly offerings which will then be 
made will flow from pure and holy love to the Saviour ; 
every sacrifice will testify the faith of them that offer it. 
For every sacrifice will be a feast. The burnt-offering 
will then be discerned by an enlightened eye, and will 
call to mind the lost and ruined state of man in Adam — 
wholly consumed. The sin-offering will set forth actual 
trespass and short-coming. The peace-offering and the 
thank-offering the abounding and exceeding great love 
of God our Saviour ; as the blood flows from the victim, 
the mind will trace the characters of death on account 
of sin, and in those very characters decipher life in atone- 
ment for sin. And as in vision John beheld a Lamb as it 
had been slain, so will the Israelite behold in reality the 
type and the antitype face to face. 0, blessed and happy 
period ! "In that day there shall be upon the bells of 
the horses, Holiness unto the Lord ; and the pots in the 
Lord's house shall be like the bowls before the altar. 
Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holi- 
ness unto the Lord of hosts : and all they that sacrifice 
shall come and take of them, and seethe therein.' ' 
(Zech. xiv. 20, 21.) " Then shall the flocks of Kedar be 



AFTER THE ADVENT. 



281 



gathered together unto thee, the rams of Nebaioth 
minister unto thee : they shall come up with acceptance 
upon mine altar, and I will glorify the house of my glory, 
saith the Lord." (Isaiah lx. 7.) And now I must bring 
this discourse to a conclusion. Did time permit, I might 
enlarge on the glory of Israel among the nations, when 
Jerusalem shall be a praise and a joy in the earth ; when 
the very name of a Jew will be held in reverence ; and 
when all nations will come up and worship in the Holy 
City — but I forbear. What remains, is to show the 
practical application of the subject. 

Let us admire and anticipate the faithfulness of the 
Lord. 

We have been following the literal delineation of pro- 
mises made to the nation of Israel. We have stood upon 
the ruins of former glory, and have anticipated the 
coming and future glory. Can we for a moment suppose, 
that if Israel literally rises from the dust, she will lose 
her identity, and pass at once into a new and different 
relation both in the sight of God and in the sight of men ? 
Far otherwise. Though a woman may forsake her suck- 
ling child, yet the Lord will not forsake Jerusalem whom 
he has engraven on the palms of his hands, and whose 
walls are continually before him. Not one jot or tittle 
shall pass from the law ; not one term or condition shall 
be wanting to the covenant ; not one syllable shall fall to 
the ground of all that has been spoken concerning Israel : 
all shall come to pass. If judgments and chastisements 
are threatened, they shall be fulfilled. If patience and 
long-suffering, they shall be revealed. If salvation and 
glory, they shall be enjoyed. Oh, what a door of hope 
and encouragement does Israel's history open to the 



282 THE GLORY OF ISRAEL AFTER THE ADVENT. 



believer ! Let me stand upon my watch-tower and survey 
the scene as it passes in panoramic vision before the eye. 
Here I see the cloud rising the size of a man's hand! 
Here I see the little one become a thousand, and the 
nations wondering at its mysterious growth. Anon, the 
tempest gathers, and little by little the bright objects are 
obscured, and a long period of darkness follows : again I 
look, and behold the beacon upon the mountain top bursts 
into a blaze, the whole landscape is illumined, a flood of 
glory gilds the scene, and I am lost in wonder and 
adoration. Such is Israel's history, telling out among 
the Heathen that the Lord is true to his threatenings and 
his promises, to his curses and his blessings. Has this 
no practical influence with Christians ? 0 let them read 
their chequered experience, and retrace their steps from 
Egypt to Sinai, from the desert to Canaan, from Canaan 
to the varied trials and afflictions of this life, and then let 
them look forward and rest in the faithfulness of a 
covenant-making and covenant -keeping God and Saviour! 
He who hath begun a good work in us, will perform it 
until the day of Christ. Faithful is he who has promised, 
who also will do it. He who leads Israel leads you. He 
who glorifies Israel glorifies you. For whom he justifies 
he glorifies. 



LECTURE X. 



THE JUDGMENT OF THE DEAD. 



BY THE KEV. THOMAS HILL, B.D., 

PREBENDARY OF LICHFIELD, AND VICAR OF CHESTERFIELD. 



Ret. XX. 11, 12. 

" And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on 
it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fed 
away ; and there was found no place for them. And 
I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God ; 
and the boohs were opened : and another book was 
opened, which is the book of life : and the dead were 
judged out of those things which were written in the 
books, according to their works." 

How harmonious, my brethren, is that revelation which 
the Scriptures present to us of God's dealings with his 
intelligent creatures. He forms them, angels and men, 
by his almighty power, and places them in circumstances 
which try their fidelity. Of the former, some fall from 
their allegiance, and are reserved for judgment ; others 
are sustained in their integrity by a special interposition 
of Divine power. The latter, ruined through the trans- 



284 



THE JUDGMENT OF THE DEAD. 



gression of their first head and representative, are, hy an 
act of sovereign mercy, placed again upon their trial. A 
method of deliverance, suited alike to the character of 
man as a moral agent, and to that of God as the moral 
Governor of the world, is devised in infinite wisdom, and 
offered in infinite mercy to the apostate race. The 
Almighty Father sends his beloved Son to atone for the 
guilt, his Holy Spirit to renew the soul of the revolted 
creature ; institutes certain conditions on which the pro- 
mise of eternal life is suspended — conditions suited to his 
own perfections and to the wants of man — " repentance 
towards God, and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ ; " 
gathers men into visible union with himself hy one 
sacrament, and preserves them in it by another ; reveals 
the counsels of his will in a volume written by the inspira- 
tion of the Holy Ghost ; and commissions a number of 
the restored community to go forth as the preachers of 
this Word, and the dispensers of these sacraments. 

The Scriptures further intimate to us, that this period 
of probation has its limit, and will end in a judgment to 
be passed on all, both angels and men, by that man 
whom God hath ordained ; and that this judgment is 
immediately preparatory to the establishment of a mighty 
kingdom, of which there shall be no end. 

To this doctrine of a judgment to come, as indeed to 
all the great truths of revelation, there are other witnesses 
besides that of Scripture. Human reason, if not suffi- 
cient of herself to discover it, gives her ready assent to 
its truth. The fabled judges of the infernal regions, the 
gloom of Tartarus, the bliss of Elysium, are so many 
proofs that even the light of nature can reveal a judgment 
after death ; and they serve to explain the remarkable 



THE JUDGMENT OF THE DEAD. 



285 



fact, that the philosophers of Athens, who mocked at the 
resurrection of the dead, offered no denial to the asser- 
tion, that God "will judge the world in righteousness.' ' 
Conscience adds her testimony to the same truth : the 
consternation of Belshazzar, the trembling of Felix, 
resulted from no apprehension of temporal evil, but from 
the fear of a judgment to come. It is a truth deducible 
from the very first principles of natural religion. From 
the inequality of the present dispensation, in which the 
good are afflicted, and the evil prosper, it is obviously " a 
righteous thing with God" to rectify this inequality by a 
judgment after death. It is one of the results of that 
relation, which the creature bears to its Creator. The 
Creator has a right to give a law, for the breach of which 
the creature is accountable ; and, if accountable, then he 
must one day render his account to God. 

But that truth, which nature and reason could but 
suggest or approve, stands revealed in the broad page of 
inspiration, from its earliest to its latest records. From 
the proclamation of Enoch to the antediluvian rebels, of 
the Lord's coming with his holy myriads " to execute 
judgment upon all," to the gracious assurance with which 
the canon of Scripture closes, "Behold, I come quickly r , 
and my reward is with me, to give every man according 
as his work shall he the judgment of the world in 
righteousness has been the theme, support, and joy, of 
the faithful, and the subject of their warning to the world 
in which they lived. There was no uncertainty in 
Abraham's question, Shall not the Judge of all the earth 
do right ?i no mixture of doubt in Job's assertion, that 
there is a judgment ; J or in Solomon's closing admo- 
* Key. xxii. 12. f Gen - xvin - 25 - t Job xix - 29 - 



286 



THE JUDGMENT OF THE DEAD. 



nition, God shall bring every work into judgment, with 
every secret thing, ivhether it be good, or whether it be 
evil.* 

In the New Testament the same truth is set forth 
with increased explicitness and vigour. The judgment 
to come had its earnest in the discriminating effect of the 
Lord's earthly ministry, compared hy the Baptist to the 
winnowing fan, with which he should purge his floor ; 
and its full development in his own repeated declaration, 
that it would he more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon, for 
Sodom and Gomorrha, than for those cities where his 
mighty works were done, and they repented not ; when 
the men of Nineveh and the Queen of the South would 
rise up against that icicked generation and condemn 
them.f It received its clearest attestation in the warning- 
given hy his apostle, that God hath appointed a day in 
the which he will judge the world in righteousness by 
that man whom he hath ordained ; whereof he hath given 
assurance unto all men in that he hath raised him from 
the dead ; J its more minute and more appalling an- 
nouncement in that special revelation of himself given to 
his heloved disciple in the Isle of Patmos. It was 
naturally to he expected, that in a hook, the express 
ohject of which was the revelation of his future advent, 
and of the long train of events, which hy their successive 
accomplishment would indicate its approach, the great 
end of that coming, the final separation of the two great 
classes into which mankind are divided, would he more 
prominently exhibited ; that the Church and the world 
would he warned of that day, when he should sit upon 
his great white throne, and from his face the earth and 
* Eccles. xii. 14. f Matt - xi - 21—25. J Acts xvii. 21. 



THE JUDGMENT OF THE DEAD. 



287 



the heaven should flee away ; and there should be found 
no place for them : when the dead, small and great, 
should stand before God, and the books should be 
opened ; and another booh should be opened, which is the 
book of life : and the dead should be judged out of those 
things which were written in the books according to their 
works. 

There is no one, I am persuaded, who will require me 
to prove that this passage is to he understood in its plain 
and literal import. " The twentieth of the Apocalypse," 
says the learned Mede, " of all the narrations of that 
hook, seems to he the most plain and simple ; most free 
of allegory, and of the involution of prophetical figures. 
How can a man, then, in so plain and simple a narration, 
take a passage of so plain and ordinarily expressed words 
in any other sense than the usual and the literal?" 

In assigning to it the exact place which it will occupy 
in the series of prophetic fulfilments, there may, perhaps, 
he some difficulty, from the strong resemhlance it hears 
to Daniel's vision of the Ancient of Days for the destruc- 
tion of the fourth monarchy, in which a judgment was 
set, and in which, also, before a great throne, the books 
were opened* Nor would we venture to pronounce it 
absolutely impossible that the one vision should he the 
counterpart of the other. Supposing the tenth verse of 
this chapter, which immediately precedes the text, to 
conclude the vision of which it forms a part, with a final 
intimation of the purposes of God ; and the recapitula- 
tion of the introductory scenes of the advent to commence 
with the text, instead of beginning with the second verse 
of the next chapter, where there is confessedly a repre- 
sentation of millennial glory, ushered in with the descent 
* Dan. vii. 10. 



288 



THE JUDGMENT OF THE DEAD. 



of the new Jerusalem — the same with the bride spoken 
of in the nineteenth chapter, whose nuptials are pre- 
millennial ; we should have a complete enumeration of the 
occurrences of the advent, without any transposition of 
their order ; the Judge seated on the great white throne, 
— the heavens and the earth fleeing away, — the dead 
judged, — new heavens and earth appearing in the place 
of the former, — the new Jerusalem descending, — and the 
voice proceeding from him who sat on the throne, and 
said, in the review of all these things, Behold, I make 
all things new* There is nothing, I repeat, in the 
narrative of this vision, if viewed apart from the pre- 
ceding context, which necessarily precludes its identity 
with the vision in Daniel vii., and, consequently, its pre- 
millennial fulfilment. This interpretation, too, would 
account for the mention, in this place, of the book of 
life, which, if the judgment is pos^mihennial, it is not 
easy to explain. 

This interpretation, however, though not without much 
show of argument in its favour, is attended with diffi- 
culties apparently insuperable. For if, by " the dead, 
small and great," we are to understand a simultaneous 
resurrection of all that have ever died, then what becomes 
of the doctrine of a "first resurrection ? " and how are 
those " blessed and holy" ones who have 6 ' part in" it 
to be distinguished from the rest of the dead, who lived 
not again until the thousand years were finished ? " 
Again, if " the earth and the heaven fled away" from 
before a pre-millennial throne, and " there was no more 
place found for them ; " — if " the new heaven and the 
new earth," in which, we are told, 4 ' there was no more 
sea" be pre-millennial, how can this be made to consist 
* Rev. xxi. 5. 



THE JUDGMENT OF THE DEAD. 



289 



with the continuance of the earth and the heaven in the 
millennial state, in which, as we know from St. Paul's 
application of the eighth Psalm to the world to come* 
there will also he a sea ? In no way as it seems, could 
such an inconsistency he removed, hut hy the scheme, 
which Mede so justly denounces, of spiritualizing what 
will naturally admit of a literal meaning ; and represent- 
ing the removal of the earth, and the heaven, and the 
sea, as denoting, not any physical changes in the earth, 
hut only the rapid and utter removal of civil and eccle- 
siastical institutions existing at the time of the advent. 

Assuming, then, that the vision related in the text is 
to he interpreted literally, and is post-millennial, we 
proceed to offer a brief exposition of its terms. 

And I saw a great white throne. A throne is the 
well-known emblem of royal power and judicial authority : 
applied to our Lord, it represents his investiture in the 
power of his Father, or in the possession of his own 
dominion. It is here called a " great" throne, to 
denote the dignity of him who sat upon it, the King of 
kings, and Lord of lords ; the magnitude of the work 
transacted before it, the judgment of the dead, small and 
great ; the grandeur of the occasion, the judgment of 
the great day, the great and dreadful day of the Lord. 
It is further called a " white " throne ; to express, not 
only its majesty and splendour, but the purity and justice 
which are the attributes of the Judge. 

And him that sat on it. Sitting is, in all countries, 
the posture of a judge : f and we infer from the expres- 
sion the visible presence of him to whom it is applied. 
* Heb. ii. 5—8. 

f Juclg. v. 10. Matt, xxvii. 19. Acts xxiii. 3. 
U 



290 



THE JUDGMENT OF THE DEAD. 



He comes in a form, the form of risen manhood. How 
unlike the form of a servant, in which he tabernacled on 
earth ! How unlike that form in which he was arraigned 
at the bar of an earthly judge ! He sits on this great 
white throne, the man ordained to be the Judge of the 
myriads of the dead. 

From whose face the earth and the heavens fled away, 
and there was found no place for them. On these 
words, what better comment can be offered than the pro- 
phetic assurance of another apostle ? The heavens shall 
pass away icith a great noise, and the elements shall 
melt with fervent heat : the earth also, and the works 
that are therein, shall be burned up* That new heaven 
and new earth, into which the present shall be trans- 
formed at the commencement of the Millennium, shall at 
the close of it be abolished. 

And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before 
God. We learn, from the fifth verse, that " the rest of 
the dead," as distinguished from the dead in Christ, who 
rose at " the first resurrection," ' ' lived not till the thou- 
sand years were over." Their resurrection, if we rightly 
conceive the order of the narrative, is here represented 
as succeeding the judgment of the devil, and of the 
nations of living men whom he had deceived. 

And the books were opened, and another book was 
opened, which is the book of life ; and the dead were 
judged out of those things which were written in the 
books, according to their works. The idea conveyed by 
the word " book" is evidently that of a register, in which 
things are written or recorded ; and it naturally expresses 
God's exact knowledge and faithful remembrance of all 
* 2 Pet. iii. 10. 



THE JUDGMENT OF THE DEAD. 



291 



tlie actions of all the myriads of mankind : and they 
were judged according to their works ; the judgment, 
according to the apostle's reasoning, in the opening of 
the Epistle to the Romans, affecting alike those who 
have possessed the knowledge of revelation, with their 
greater, and those who were destitute of it, with their 
lesser responsibilities ; when he will render to every man 
according to his deeds : to them ioho by patient con- 
tinuance in well doing seek for glory honour and 
immortality, eternal life ; but unto them that are con- 
tentious and obey not the truth, but obey unrighteousness, 
indignation and icrath, tribulation and anguish, upon 
every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and 
also of the Gentile : for there is no respect of persons 
with God* 

And another book was opened, which is the book of 
life. The account usually given of the introduction of 
this book is, that it was to ascertain that none of the 
wicked were written in it. It should, however, be re- 
marked, that this book is not described as the book of 
life, of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world; 
nor yet as the book of life from the foundation of the 
world, t It may, then, be another book, indicating 
another kind of salvation ; even of Israel in the flesh, who 
are saved in "the beloved city," like Noah's family in 
the ark, to be the seed of a new world. 

The text, then, thus briefly explained, will be found to 
bear testimony to — 

I. The person of the Judge. 

II- The subjects of the Judgment. 

III. The equity of the process. 

* Kom. ii. 7 — 10. f Rev. xiii. 8 ; xvii. 8. 

u 2 



292 



THE JUDGMENT OF THE DEAD. 



I. As God the Father judgeth no man, but has com- 
mitted all judgment to the Son, we are sure that he who 
sitteth on the great white throne is a symbol of God 
the Son, and the text affords one of the most striking 
testimonies contained in all Scripture to the deity of him, 
who is at the same time the man ordained to judge the 
world in righteousness. A great white throne is seen, 
and the dead, small and great, stand before God. And 
what part is there of the great work which he came to 
accomplish, for which the union of the two natures in his 
mysterious person was more indispensably necessary ? 
He must be God; for who but the Omniscient can know, 
so as to judge, the works, the words, the thoughts of 
men ? He must be God ; for at whose voice but that of 
the Omnipotent shall all that are in the graves come 
forth ? And of whom, but the Infinitely Just One, can 
it be affirmed that he will judge, not according to the 
hearing of his ears, but with righteousness shall he judge, 
and reprove with equity ? He must also be the man, 
Christ Jesus : for how shall the justice of God be vindi- 
cated in suffering him to be condemned at Pilate's bar, 
and die as a malefactor ? how but by granting him now 
the power of absolution and condemnation, and causing 
all the sons of men to bow before his throne ? He must 
be man ; for how otherwise could we appear before him ? 
If the children of Israel could not endure the presence of 
God as a Lawgiver, but desired to receive the law by 
the hand of Moses, how should we appear before the 
presence of that God, judging us for the breach of that 
law, were it not for a better Mediator, of the same 
nature that Moses was, and we are, who is our Judge ? 

The constitution of the God-man as the Judge of men, 



THE JUDGMENT OF THE DEAD. 



293 



is an essential part of that manifestation of God in the 
person of his Son, which we helieve to he the final end of 
all God's revealed purposes. Believing, as we assuredly 
do, that all the acts of God have heen done in the 
person of the Son, it were inconceivable, that in the 
grand consummation of these purposes which we are now 
contemplating, any other agency should he employed. 
When can he give so bright a manifestation of God's 
attributes, as when seated on the great white throne ? 
How can he give a more signal display of God's justice 
than by proving, even to the consciences of the impeni- 
tent, that their ruin was from themselves ; that sin is that 
odious thing which the Word of God describes it ; and 
that it is equitably punished with everlasting destruction 
from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his 
power ? How more awfully manifest God's omniscience 
than by showing, that from the beginning he hath 
searched the hearts and tried the reins of all the children 
of men ; that the sins which they have committed, the 
graces which they have exercised, the motives by which 
they have been governed, all these he will " set in the 
light of his countenance ? " How can he more gloriously 
display God's immutability, than by proving that from 
his law one jot or one tittle shall by no means pass, till 
all be fulfilled, and that his Gospel is the power of God 
unto eternal salvation to all who embraced it ? What 
more illustrious exhibition can he give of God's power, 
than when he is seen having in his hand the keys of 
death and of Hades, and when from his face the heavens 
and the earth flee away, and no place shall be found for 
them? 

Such, my brethren, is the first point to which the text 



294 



THE JUDGMENT OE THE DEAD. 



bears testimony ; the person of the Judge — the God-man, 
the manifester of God, and the vindicator of all his acts 
to the whole intelligent creation. 

II. We next learn who are the subjects oe the judg- 
ment. 

If there be a truth clearly revealed in Scripture, it is 
this ; that all who have ever existed, whatever may have 
been their character, and under whatever dispensation 
they may have lived, must give account of themselves to 
the Judge of quick and dead. We must all appear 
before the judgment-seat of Christ ; that every one may 
receive the things done in his body, according to that he 
hath done, whether it be good or bad* All that are in 
the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth ; 
they that have done good unto the resurrection of life ; 
and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of 
damnation. "\ Therefore, whatever difficulty there may 
be in determining the interval that shall elapse between 
the two resurrections ; or in ascertaining whether all of 
the one class shall rise at the first of these periods, and 
all of the other at the second ; whatever may be the 
diversity in the nature of that judgment to which these 
two great c ^ asses an d the various subdivisions of them 
will be subjected, this at least is clear, that there is a 
sense in which all who have ever lived shall stand before 
the Son of man. This universality of the judgment is 
declared, or necessarily implied, in the text. If it were 
lawful to consider it, as it has been in past ages con- 
sidered, a description of a simultaneous and universal 
judgment of all that have ever lived, it would not be easy 
to find words more comprehensive than these, The dead, 
* 2 Cor. v. 10. f John v - 29 - 



THE JUDGMENT OF THE DEAD. 



295 



small and great, stand before God, But as such an 
interpretation is necessarily precluded by considerations 
already stated, and as the judgment here announced 
must consequently be supplementary to a former one ; the 
question to be determined, or, I should rather say, 
humbly and reverently asked, is, what portion of the dead 
are concerned in the former, and what in the latter act of 
this twofold judgment ? 

The doctrine of "the first resurrection," having been 
already brought before you, it is superfluous to remark 
that the subjects of it are, according to the express 
assertion of the apostle, they that are Christ's at his 
coming .* For we which are alive and remain unto the 
coming of the Lord, shall not prevent them which are 
asleep : the dead in Christ shall rise first. f From these 
and other passages it has doubtless been shown to you 
that the raised saints, who, together with the changed 
ones, are caught up to meet the Lord in the air, form 
with them the whole Church of the first-born. And 
this brief allusion to the subject of the first resurrection 
is simply made to assist our inquiry into the nature of 
that judgment which passes upon the dead in Christ, 
who have a part in that resurrection, as distinct from the 
judgment of the dead, small and great, which is the 
subject of the text. 

Now these raised saints, who, together with the living 
ones, descend with the Lord, as the assessors of his 
throne, when he comes down to the earth, appear, as we 
cannot doubt, marshalled in their various orders and 
degrees of glory and dominion ; and how can these 
* 1 Cor. xv. 23. t 1 Thess. iv. 15, 16. 



296 



THE JUDGMENT OF THE DEAD. 



stations have been assigned respectively to each, unless a 
judgment of their works has taken place during the period 
that they are with the Lord in the air ? 

We conclude, then, that the subjects of that judgment, 
which we call "the judgment of the dead," are, in the 
first place, those who are raised at the coming of the 
Lord, and receive their respective rewards previously to 
his descent to the earth ; and, secondly, those who live 
not again, until the thousand years are completed. 

The widely different sense in which the word "judg- 
ment" is used in the two cases will appear when we 
consider — 

III. The testimony which the text bears to the equity 
of the judicial process : they were judged according 
to their works. 

The judgment of the elect saints, who will have been 
raised at the Lord's advent, is indeed a judgment accord- 
ing to works ; but it is rather a trial or investigation of 
their works, in order that every one may receive the just 
reward of his labour, than a judgment of their persons ; 
from which we believe that they will be entirely exempt. 
To their persons there can be no condemnation. Their 
sins are covered ; * will God remove that covering, to 
expose the iniquities of his people to men and angels ? 
Their transgressions are blotted out as a cloud. t Is the 
cloud that has been so scattered to be collected again ? 
Christ hath sanctified and cleansed his Church, that he 
may present her to himself a glorious Church, without 
spot or wrinkle, or any such thing ; J and can we for a 
moment imagine that the bride, clothed with the robes of 
* Rom. iv. 7. f Isa - x l iv - 22 - t E P h - v - 27 - 



THE JUDGMENT OF THE DEAD. 



297 



immortality and glory, will, on the day of her nuptials, 
hear her' faults and transgressions brought under judg- 
ment ? 

The judgment, then, of the dead in Christ is the 
judgment of their works, and is described in the parable 
of the pounds and the talents. For even should these 
parables prove to relate exclusively to that portion of the 
Church which shall be living at the time of the advent, 
still the principle which they are intended to illustrate, 
that God is not unrighteous to forget his people's work 
and labour of love* must equally apply to those who, 
having served God in their successive generations, have 
fallen asleep, to be raised at the day of their Lord's 
coming. 

The judgment of the rest of the dead is, as we learn 
from the positive declaration of the chapter before us, 
deferred until after a period of a thousand years. The 
blessed and holy ivho have part in the first resurrection 
have entered into the joy of their Lord ; but the rest of 
the dead live not again until the thousand years are 
finished. Then another resurrection takes place, when 
the dead, small and great, stand before God to undergo a 
personal judgment ; and whosoever is not found written 
in the book of life is cast into the lake of fire. 

The affirmation of the text, that the judgment of all 
these myriads who have ever lived shall be according to 
their works, receives, perhaps, from no part of the Sacred 
Volume a more ample illustration than from the second 
chapter of St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans. The 
apostle's immediate object is, doubtless, to bring in the 
whole world guilty before God, that so he may lead men 
* Heb. vi. 10. 



298 



THE JUDGMENT OF THE DEAD. 



to seek the only way of deliverance opened to them in the 
Gospel.. But his argument discloses incidentally such a 
view of the certainty and universality of the general 
judgment, and of those principles of impartial equity on 
which it will he conducted, as to afford the most satis- 
factory exposition of that which our text briefly, though 
expressly, announces. 

Setting out with this, as an axiom, that there is no 
respect of persons with God,* who therefore, although as 
a Sovereign he may distribute his favours as he pleases, 
must, as a Judge, proceed with every individual alike ; 
the apostle goes on to apply this principle to the award 
pronounced on the various classes of mankind. For as 
many as have sinned without law shall perish without 
laiv. f In determining the doom of those who have had 
no written revelation of the Divine will, if they he found 
to have sinned, regard shall he had, not to that revelation 
of which they were ignorant, but to that righteous judg- 
ment with which, as it had been proved, \ they were 
acquainted. And as many as have perished in, or 
under, the law, shall he judged by the law. § If they 
who, together with the light of reason and conscience, 
possessed also the advantage of a revelation, were yet 
found sinners, that very revelation would condemn them ; 
for, even according to the terms and conditions of their 
law, " not the hearers of it are just before God, but the 
doers of the law shall be justified ; " || not those who merely 
acknowledged its obligations, but those who performed 
its stipulated sendees. He then proceeds to assign a 
reason why sinners of the Gentiles, who had not a 

* Rom. ii. 11. f Rom « »• 12 - t Rom - 32 - 

§ Rom. ii. 12. || lb. ver. 13. 



THE JUDGMENT OF THE DEAD. 



299 



revealed law, were yet amenable to God's tribunal. 
Although they bad not received a revelation, yet God 
had not left them without a knowledge of the guilt and 
desert of their evil deeds ; for, he argues, when we see 
these Gentiles observing the grand principles of the moral 
law, it shows that they have the work of the law written 
on their hearts ; * that they have inscribed upon their 
minds by nature a sense of right and wrong, correspond- 
ing to that which it was the chief object of the revealed 
law to produce. The same truth, he maintains, is 
attested by the suggestions of their conscience : they are 
visited with remorse on account of their crimes, they can 
exult in the remembrance of their virtues. 

Time does not allow, nor does need require, that we 
should further pursue the argument by which the apostle 
proves the impartial justice with which God shall judge 
the secrets of men by Jesus Christ ; and equally unne- 
cessary is it to remark, how readily this reasoning applies 
to those who live under the dispensation of the Gospel. 
If the poor Heathen is by the law of his nature justly 
amenable to God's tribunal ; if the Jew is to be judged 
by the revelation with which he was intrusted, how cer- 
tainly may we gather, that those to whom life and immor- 
tality have been brought to light by the Gospel, shall be 
judged according to the higher advantages which they 
have enjoyed. But in a matter so momentous we are 
left in no degree of uncertainty. " He that believeth 
shall be saved ; and he that believeth not shall be 
damned, "t These, then, are to us the terms of proba- 
tion ; they will therefore be those of our judgment. The 
word that I speak, says our Lord, the same shall judge 
* Rom. ii. 14, 15. f Mark xvi. 16. 



300 



THE JUDGMENT OF THE BEAD. 



every man at the last day* We are required to receive 
Jesus in those characters, of Prophet, Priest, and King, 
in which he is revealed as the restorer of the fallen 
creature from the ruins of the fall. Those who so receive 
him are saved; those who reject him perish. And this 
rejection of the offered salvation, the Scriptures further 
inform us, greatly aggravates the doom of the disohedient. 
Woe unto thee, Chorazin ! ivoe unto thee, Bethsaida ! 
for if the mighty icorks, ichich were done in you, had 
been done in Tyre and Sidon, they icould have repented 
long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, 
It shcdl be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the 
day of judgment, than for you.i " If I had not come 
and spoken unto them, they had not had sin : but now 
they have no cloke for their sin." \ He that despised 
Moses' law died without mercy under two or three 
witnesses : Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, 
shall he be thought icorthy, who hath trodden under foot 
the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the 
covenant, wherewith he teas sanctified, an unholy thing, 
and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace ? For 
we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto 
me, I toill recompense, saith the Lord.§ 

It is of the greatest importance that Ave rightly under- 
stand the basis of this responsibility. Xo one can read 
the Scripture with an honest mind and not see that he is 
dealt with as possessing moral powers, and is therefore 
punishable for transgressing the commands addressed to 
him as one endued with those powers. True it is, that 
the circumstances of our trial widely differ from those in 

* John xii. 48. f Matt xi. 21, 22. % John xv. 22. 
§ Heb. x. 2S— 30. 



THE JUDGMENT OF THE DEAD. 



301 



which Adam's took place. His affections were holy, and 
his faculties in their full vigour ; while we are 6 ' horn in 
sin," and receive all our impressions under the influence 
of the evil one. These are, douhtless, the aggravations, 
hut they are not the essence of our trial. ' ' We know," 
if I may borrow the energetic statement of a master in 
Israel, who, being dead, yet speaketh to the Church of 
God, "we know, or our ignorance is wilful, that there is a 
God ; we know that he demands the obedience of faith 
to the Lord Jesus Christ ; we know that Satan is a liar, 
and the father of it. Then what is he, that we should 
listen to him ? He is no more part of our substance than 
God is. Our refusal of God's demands therefore is not 
of necessity, but of will; and for that choice we must 
give account. Is God to make concessions to our self- 
made difficulties ? Is he to say, * Yes, there is evidence ; 
my demands are just ; the creature ought to hear 
and obey me ; but my enemy hath been beforehand 
with me ? ' He knows nothing of this enemy as an 
inmate and accepted counsellor ; he knows him only as 
one whom he hath appointed to try man, as every 
accountable creature must be tried ; if he is more than 
this outward tempter, it is because man has opened the 
door to him. Does the master excuse the delinquency of 
his servant because he has formed some base connexion 
which seduces him from his due fidelity ? Does the king 
count it venial in his minister, that he betrays his honour 
through the influence of a traitorous correspondence with 
foreigners ? So neither does God recede from his 
righteous demands upon man, because he has made 
himself vile. He deals with him as what he made him ; 
demands of all what it becomes all to yield ; gives suffi- 



302 



THE JUDGMENT OF THE DEAD. 



cient evidence to all that such is his demand, even as he 
has given to all faculties, which, if exercised, cannot hut 
appreciate his demands correctly ; and resents refusal in 
all, because all who refuse enter the lists with him as an 
adversary. It is the misapprehension of man's powers, 
and the misplacing of the devil's agency, which has 
blinded man to the equity of God's universal sentence 
against the wicked."* 

The equity of this sentence will he still more abun- 
dantly proved by the long interval which precedes the 
judgment, and which, by affording to man every variety 
of advantage for his trial which he could desire or con- 
ceive, silences all complaint of hardship or injustice. 
Does the untaught barbarian murmur that he was denied 
the privilege of a revelation from heaven ? Not only is 
he convicted of unfaithfulness to the law of reason and 
conscience, but he witnesses the heavier doom of Chorazin 
and Bethsaida, where the people that had walked in 
darkness saw a great light, but repented not. Does a 
rebel of the antediluvian or patriarchal ages complain of 
the feeble ray that shone upon the darkness of his times ? 
Lo ! the cry is heard, We have eaten and drunk in thy 
presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. But the 
Judge shall say, / tell you, I know you not, whence ye 
are ; depart from me, all ye icorkers of iniquity. Is it 
replied, " True, we heard the sound of the Gospel, but 
under circumstances how unfavourable to our reception of 
it ! The sin of our first parent had brought us under the 
captivity of Satan ; we were shapen in wickedness, and 
in sin did our mother conceive us." The remembrance 
of Adam's innocence and fall silences this complaint. 
* Vaughan's Sermons on Matt. xi. p. 191. 



THE JUDGMENT OF THE DEAD. 



303 



Perhaps they rejoin that, had they been left to the free 
exercise of their inherent powers, with no temptation from 
without, and with examples attracting them to good 
instead of repelling them from it, the habits and prin- 
ciples of virtue would have become so strong as to carry 
them successfully through the severest trial. The answer 
is given from the lake of fire, teeming with those 
infatuated multitudes of the millennial age, on whom fire 
had come down from God out of heaven and devoured 
them.* " Ours was the trial, from which you suppose 
you would have escaped unhurt. Surrounded by every 
proof of God's unbounded goodness ; living on the earth 
when delivered from its curse, though not without its 
warnings of preceding judgment ; f left to the free 
exercise of our faculties, with every aid to their improve 
ment ; we continued happy and virtuous until we were 
tried. But at length Satan was loosed ; he tempted us ? 
and fired our minds with the desire of independence. 
We fell ; and our doom is a monument to the universe, 
that faculties of the highest order, knowledge of the 
widest extent, habits strengthened by the longest exer- 
cise, can of themselves afford no security to the creature 
against the wiles of the devil. " 

What, then, is that condition in which man will not 
have been tried ? First, in a state of unsullied purity ; 
then fallen, and under the dominion of the tempter, but 
with adequate means of escape ; and lastly, during the 
cohibition of the tempter, and with every external 
advantage for the exercise of his inherent powers ; in all 
these states he will have been tried and found wanting. 
* Kev, xx. 9„ f Is. Ixvi. 24. 



304 



THE JUDGMENT OF THE DEAD. 



And tlius every mouth is stopped, and God is justified in 
his saying, and clear ivhen he is judged. 

It only remains that we briefly suggest a few of the 
uses to which the consideration of this awful subject 
should lead us. 

The first, surely, is that of exciting us to a strict 
examination of our personal condition. What is there 
which can affect us, if the announcement of a judgment 
to come, with the detail of its circumstances and results, 
does not constrain us to inquire, Am I prepared to meet 
my God ? 

It is on the twofold issue of this judgment that our 
Church bases her most solemn warnings and her most 
animating encouragements. To the contemplation of 
that issue she directs our thoughts in the " Commination " 
with which this holy season commences ; that, " remem- 
bering the dreadful judgment hanging over our heads, we 
may return unto our Lord God with all contrition and 
meekness of heart, bewailing and lamenting our sinful 
life, acknowledging and confessing our offences, and 
seeking to bring forth worthy fruits of repentance." To 
give strength to her exhortation, she gathers from the 
Word of God the most awful descriptions of the judgment, 
its character and end. She reminds us of the short and 
uncertain period of our robation, and the dreadful conse- 
quences of that day finding us unprepared. And shall 
the effect of this warning be weakened bv the thought 
that we may be sleeping in the dust at that clay, and not 
hear the voice that shall awake the dead at the Lord's 
advent ? 0 ! be assured, that sleep will be one, not of 
repose, but of terror and anticipated torment ! And what 



THE JUDGMENT OF THE DEAD. 



305 



though it shall be unbroken for a thousand years ? The 
moment must at last come, when we are compelled to 
stand before the great white throne, and to see that face 
from which the earth and the heaven flee away, and there 
is found no place for them. 

But listen again to the Church, while, to encourage 
our return to him " who is the merciful receiver of all 
true penitent sinners," she presents to our faith and hope 
the judgment of the blessed — " This if we do, Christ 
will deliver us from the curse of the law, and from the 
extreme malediction which shall light upon them that 
shall be set on the left hand ; and he will set us on 
his right hand, and give us the gracious benediction of 
his Father, commanding us to take possession of his 
glorious kingdom." * 

If, then, by the grace of God, and through that faith 
which is of his operation, we have obtained the justifica- 
tion of our persons, and so are free from condemnation, 
let us strive to give effect to these pious intentions of our 
Church, and, not content with barely ascertaining our 
safety, seek the highest places in the Redeemer's king- 
dom. For what purpose are we told of the " ruler over 
ten cities," of ' ' one star exceeding another star in glory," 
of " those who turn many to righteousness shining as the 
firmament, and as the stars for ever and ever," but to 
stimulate our ambition of bringing the largest revenue of 
praise to Him who in that day is to be admired in his 
saints, and glorified in all them that believe ; who hath 
bought us with his blood, and sanctified us with his Spirit, 
in order that we may be a peculiar people, zealous of 
good works ? 

* Comraination Service. 



306 



THE JUDGMENT OF THE DEAD. 



The second use is, that of giving activity to our exertions 
for others. 

Is the result of this judgment the eternal exclusion of 
the wicked from the presence of the Lord, and their 
eternal consignment to the lake of fire, to the worm 
which dieth not, the fire which shall not be quenched ? Is 
it true that the subjects of this judgment are the myriads 
of human kind? and are these myriads giving the most 
appalling proofs that they are living in sin, either without 
law, or under the law? And is it true, that on this 
short interval of probation their everlasting doom is 
suspended? Then, with what eager haste, with what 
untiring zeal, should we, who have been delivered from 
the power of the second death, and raised to newness of 
life, hold forth the word of that life, and proclaim the 
mercies of our Deliverer! Where is our faith, where 
our gratitude and love, if they do not call forth our note 
of warning, and give brightness to the lamp which we 
carry into the midst of surrounding darkness? We 
have heard that there is a "raore," and a "less tolerable, " 
in the day of judgment ; and, if we can endure the 
thought of the myriads beaten with fewer stripes, because 
they were comparatively ignorant of that law which they 
disobeyed ; can we think with calmness of the multitudes 
who surround us, and, who, if they die unreclaimed, must 
be beaten with many, because they knew not the day of 
their visitation ? 

The third use is, that of preserving us from doctrinal 
error in some of those insidious forms which at the present 
day it assumes. 

What is the rule of judgment ? The ivord that I have 
spoken, says our Lord, shall judge a man in the last 



THE JUDGMENT OF THE DEAD. 



307 



day. It is Christ's word, not mans word. Whenever, 
therefore, a doctrine is proposed to our acceptance, let 
us look narrowly to the authority on which it rests. 
Let us say, " I take that as the rule of my faith and 
of my life, which is to he the rule of my judgment." 
However venerable may be the sanction under which it 
comes ; if not confirmed by the law and the testimony, 
let us reject it. 

Again : for what shall we be judged ? For the things 
done in the body. The actions of the life, whatever 
they were, written in the book of God's remembrance, of 
memory, and of conscience, shall then be brought into 
judgment. What possible room, then, for a purgatorial 
cleansing of the soul in its intermediate state? What 
conceivable opportunity for reforming what has been 
amiss, and recovering the unrighteous and polluted to 
rectitude and purity, when once the period of probation is 
completed? He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: 
and he that is filthy, let him be filthy still * 

And, finally, my brethren, let the purity and omni- 
science of him who sits on " the great white throne," 
and the breadth and spirituality of that law which shall 
be the rule of judgment, remind us of the utter worthless- 
ness of all external and ceremonial observances, if unac- 
companied with inward holiness- The poor publican, 
who would not so much as lift up his eyes to heaven, but 
smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me, a 
sinner, went down to his house justified, rather than the 
self-righteous Pharisee, who boasted of the multitude and 
exactness of his outward services : and that justification 
shall be confirmed and vindicated in the day ivhen God 
* Rev. xxii. 11. 

x 2 



308 



THE JUDGMENT OF THE DEAD. 



shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ* It will 
then be seen that " baptism' ' is "not the putting away 
the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience 
towards God ;" that communion with Christ, in his highest 
ordinance, is not the " visibly and carnally pressing with 
the teeth"! the sacrament of the body and blood of 
Christ, but the spiritual participation of the sacred 
elements; and that God, who is a Spirit, seeketh, ap- 
proveth, justifieth, glorifieth, those only who worship Him 
in spirit and in truth. J 

* Rom. ii. 16. f Augustine. $ John iv. 23, 24. 



LECTURE XI. 



THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST THE LORD IN ITS 
SUCCESSIVE STAGES AND IN ITS 
HEAVENLY GLORIES. 



BY THE REV. E. BICKERSTETH, 

RECTOR OF WATTON. 



Rev. XXI. 22, 23, 24. 

" And I saw no temple therein : for the Lord God 
Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And 
the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, 
to shine in it : for the glory of God did lighten it ; 
and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations 
of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it ; 
and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and 
honour into it." 

The consideration of the heavenly kingdom of Christ our 
Lord is the subject which has been appointed for this 
evening. I deeply feel that the full glory of that kingdom 
is really unutterable, and that there is an impossibility 
of attaining, in our present state, the just comprehension 
of all its excellence. Yet is the subject worthy of constant 



310 



THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST IN ITS 



contemplation. May we set our affections on things 
above! May the Holy Spirit himself be our great 
Teacher, showing us things to come ! 

The previous lectures have brought before you the 
course of God's providence till the final act of judgment. 
The prophet, in the ninth verse of this chapter, begins a 
new vision, and carries us forward into eternity, and 
opens a boundless scene of everlasting glory. In the 
preceding vision of the judgment, after the sea has given 
up the dead, and not only the righteous, but the wicked, 
have stood before Christ in judgment, all things are made 
new, and the apostle declares, / saw a neiv heaven and a 
new earth : for the first heaven and the first earth were 
passed away ; and there was no more sea. This clearly 
distinguishes it both from the present state of things and 
from the millennial kingdom, where the sea remains till 
the judgment. 

We have, then, a new vision opening out to us the 
heavenly Jerusalem and its eternal blessedness. An angel 
comes unto the apostle, and tells him, Come hither, and 
I ivill shoiv thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. This bride 
is then represented to him under the figure of a city. 
The city is described as that great city, the holy Jerusalem, 
descending out of heaven from God, in its completed 
grandeur; and the remainder of this last vision of this 
book reveals the eternal happiness of the saints and the 
full manifestation of Jehovah's glory. The words of 
this vision form a suitable close to the whole course 
of prophecy, and crown the revelations of God to the sons 
of men. 

Before entering on this wonderful vision, it will be 
profitable first to review the grand outlines of God's 



STAGES AND HEAVENLY GLORIES. 



311 



providence, as set before us in the Word of prophecy, and 
then to consider more fully the eternal kingdom of our 
Lord and Saviour. 

Our subject is so peculiarly and eminently heavenly and 
glorious, that the due contemplation of it cannot fail 
deeply to humble us. When Isaiah saw the heavenly 
glory, he cried out, Woe is me, for I am undone, because 
I am a man of unclean lips ; and not till a live coal 
from off the altar had touched his lips, and so taken 
away his iniquity and purged his sin, did he offer himself 
to go on his mission to Israel. 

In commencing, then, this subject, I desire to acknow- 
ledge before you, and to impress on my own heart and 
yours, our entire dependence on Divine teaching to 
enable me to give, and you to receive right instruction in 
these heavenly truths. Let us enter into the full meaning 
and force of that inspired writing, eye hath not seen, nor 
ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man 
the things which God hath prepared for them that love 
him. Let us also be encouraged by the following as- 
surance ; — But God hath revealed them to us by his 
Spirit, for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep 
things of God. Let us be quickened by such a blessed 
truth to the most fervent prayer for the constant teaching 
of the Holy Ghost. 

I would, looking for his grace, endeavour to unfold — 

1. The successive stages of Christ's kingdom. 

2. The eternal glory which is here described. 

1. THE SUCCESSIVE STAGES OF CHRIST'S 
KINGDOM. 



312 



THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST IX ITS 



The whole design of God in redemption is summed up 
by the apostle in the beginning of the Epistle to the 
Ephesians : His good pleasure ichich he purposed in 
himself was, that in the dispensation of the fulness of 
times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, 
both which are in heaven, and ivhich are on earth ; even 
in him. But in this great work there are distinct eras, 
each marked by its own character ; but all tending to the 
final issue of blessedness. We may distinguish four of 
these eras or successive stages. 

1. The time of expectation. — This era comprehends 
the time from the creation to the first advent, or from 
the promise of the seed of the woman to bruise the 
head of the serpent, given in Eden, to its personal fulfil- 
ment in him who was born of the virgin. This was the 
great hope of patriarchs, judges, kings, and prophets. 
Thus our Lord testified of Abraham to the Jews, Your 
father Abraham rejoiced to see my day ; and he saw it, 
and teas glad. Thus Jacob on his death-bed describes 
his state of mind, / have waited for thy salvation, 0 
Lord. To him give all the prophets witness. The law 
and the prophets icere until John ; since that time the 
kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth 
into it. Simeon ivas waiting for the consolation of 
Israel. Anna and others were looking for redemption 
in Jerusalem. John the Baptist, as the messenger, was 
sent to prepare the way of Christ ; and he everywhere 
preached, Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at 
hand. Thus for 4,000 years the world was preparing 
for the first advent. Moses wrote of Christ. David in 
the Psalms foretold him. The Scriptures testified of 



STAGES AND HEAVENLY GLORIES. 



313 



him. And when the fulness of time was come God 
sent forth his Son. Thus for 4,000 years there was a 
time of expectation. 

2. The spiritual kingdom, from the first to the second 
advent, is the next distinct era to be noticed. The King 
was manifested in our Lord Jesus Christ. The incarnate 
Saviour had now been revealed on earth ; he had fulfilled 
the law in our nature ; he had offered himself a sacrifice 
for our sins ; he had risen again for our justification ; 
he had poured out on his Church the gifts of his own 
Spirit, and had sent that Spirit to be the Advocate and 
Comforter of his people during his own personal absence. 
The time of open glory, in this period, is not yet come : 
but a mighty work has to be wrought on earth in gather- 
ing from age to age the Church of the first-born and 
preparing them for their full adoption, and the visible 
kingdom of God yet to be established. This is often 
mentioned in the Scripture as the kingdom of heaven, 
being the first or preparatory form of the kingdom of 
Christ, a kingdom distinct from the world, and founded 
on spiritual and heavenly principles by Christ the Lord of 
all. All power, said our Lord on his ascension, is given 
unto me in heaven and earth ; go ye therefore and teach 
all nations. The kingdom of heaven, thus founded on 
his ascension, is said to be like a grain of mustard seed, 
which a man took and sowed in his field ; which is 
indeed the least of all seeds, but when it is grown it is 
the greatest among herbs. This kingdom, in its most 
important sense, is invisible to the eye of sense, and 
discerned only by faith. The kingdom of God cometh 
not with observation. Neither shall they say, Lo here ! 
or, lo there ! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within 



314 



THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST IN ITS 



you. (Luke xvii. 20, 21.) It is the entire and joyful 
submission of the heart unto God, Thy people shall be 
made loilling in the day of thy power. It is inward 
holiness and happiness, The kingdom of God is righteous- 
ness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. It is the calm 
sovereignty of peace over all our disordered affections, 
Let the peace of God ride in your hearts, to the which 
also ye are called, in one body, and be ye thankful. It 
is a real victory over the power of Satan, If I, said our 
Lord, by the Spirit of God cast out devils, no doubt the 
kingdom of God is come upon you. The power and 
strength of this kingdom has already begun to be mani- 
fested in the subjugation of the enemies of Christ and 
the progressive increase of his truth. We may see it in 
the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, The king 
sent forth his armies and destroyed those murderers, 
and burned up their city. It is, in short, the reign of 
grace over sin, in the midst of a world of sinners, That 
as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign 
through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ 
our Lord. 

In these things you see the nature and character of 
this kingdom marking its reality, power, and blessed- 
ness. Its peculiar features are, the exaltation in heaven 
of Christ, the King of saints and of nations, seated 
above on his Father's throne (Rev. iii. 21) ; from thence 
he sends gifts on his people, providential judgments on 
his enemies, by which their power is overthrown and their 
wrath restrained ; his regal power is exercised over the 
hearts of his people, who are made willing to render to 
him a glad service ; and, in the midst of all its many 
enemies, the Gospel still proceeds with fresh conquests 



STAGES AND HEAVENLY GLORIES. 



315 



and victories, preparing the way for the final triumph of 
the Redeemer. 

3. The Millennial kingdom is a further era to be 
noticed. 

This is singled oat for distinct observation in dif- 
ferent parts of the Word of God. It is a time of tran- 
sition from the kingdom of grace to the kingdom of glory, 
and partakes of the features of both those kingdoms. It 
is a state of probation to men upon earth, and a beginning 
of assured blessedness to the saints of the resurrection. 

There are two main characters of this period. 

(1.) It is a time of putting down all the enemies 
of Christ by the visible exercise of judgment. The 
apostle thus sets it before us in the Epistle to the 
Corinthians : They that are Christ's shall be made alive 
at his coming. Then cometh the end, when he shall 
have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the 
Father ; ivhen he shall have put down all rule and all 
authority and poioer. For he must reign, till he hath 
put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that 
shall be destroyed is death. For he hath put all things 
under his feet. But when he saith, all things are put 
under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did 
put all things under him. And when all things shall 
be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be 
subject unto him that put all things under him, that God 
may be all in all. Everything that opposes itself to 
Christ will be brought into complete subjection, all his 
enemies shall be confounded and wholly subdued. The 
same visible exercise of judgment is predicted in the 
19th and 20th chapters of Revelation, and more especially 
in the binding of Satan for 1,000 years. Who can tell 



316 



THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST IN ITS 



the happy effects of such an entire removal, for such a 
season, of all the temptations of him who has so long 
heen the god of this world, and led its millions captive at 
his will? The Lord's victory over Satan, and his con- 
finement for such a lengthened period, must make the 
millennial kingdom very glorious. But "besides this, there 
is the open exercise of judgment in the supreme dominion 
of the saints, as we see in the declaration : And I saw 
thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was 
given unto them : and I saw the souls of them that were 
beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of 
God, and which hoA not icor shipped the beast, neither 
his image, neither had received his mark upon their 
foreheads, or in their hands ; and they lived and reigned 
with Christ a thousand years. Thus a special honour is 
put upon the faithful servants of Christ in this world, 
the scene of their shame and reproach, their sorrows 
and their sufferings, and what an accession of happiness 
and glory will this part of the judgment give ! Yet, 
notwithstanding all, we have at the close of this reign 
human wickedness bursting forth again, and thence the 
loosing of Satan again out of his prison for a short 
period, his deceiving the nations on the earth afresh, 
his war against the camp of the saints and the beloved 
city. And upon this he is put down for ever. We have 
distinctly described to us his destruction by fire, — the 
final judgment of all the dead, — the casting of death and 
hell into the lake of fire, with all those ichose names are 
not written in the book of life. Such is the complete 
subjugation of all the enemies of Christ, and the visible 
exercise of judgment by Christ and his saints reigning 
with him during the millennial kingdom. 



STAGES AND HEAVENLY GLORIES. 317 
(2.) It IS also A SEASON OF SPECIAL EXALTATION OF 

the Lord Jesus Christ upon this our earth. It is 
frequently predicted in this view. Thus the apostle tells 
the Hebrews, When he bringeth in again the first- 
begotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of 
God worship him. Our Lord told the Jews, As the 
Father raiseth up the dead and quiclceneth them, even 
so the Son quickeneth whom he will. For the Father 
judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto 
the Son ; that all men should honour the Son, even 
as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the 
Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him. 
This time of judgment will be the time when special 
honour and glory shall be given by all creation to that 
Son, even similar to that which is given to the Father. 
In this view, the apostle in the Hebrews not only declares, 
that all the angels shall worship him, but contrasts the 
glory of angels with the far higher glory of the Son. 
They are his ministers : but unto the Son he saith, Thy 
throne, 0 God, is for ever and ever; a sceptre of 
righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. He further 
contrasts the glory of angels and that of the Son, 
exalting Christ far above every name that is named in 
heaven or earth. For unto the angels hath he not put in 
subjection the world to come, whereof we speak. But 
one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, 
that thou art mindful of him ? or the son of man that 
thou visitest him ? Thou madest him a little lower than 
the angels. Thou crownedst him with glory and honour, 
and didst set him over the ivories of thy hands : Thou 
hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in 
that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing 



318 



THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST IN ITS 



that is not put under him. Such is the glorious exalta- 
tion of our Lord Christ in the very world where he was 
mocked and crowned with thorns, spit upon, and crucified. 
At his coming, on his return to our earth, there was given 
him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all 
people, nations, and languages, should serve him : his 
dominion is an everlasting dominion, ichich shall not 
pass away, and his kingdom that ichich shall not be 
destroyed. And so our Lord Jesus shall he specially 
exalted and honoured in that which was the scene of his 
humiliation and abasement. Of this glory the risen saints 
shall partake. To him that overcometh will I grant to 
sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame and 
am set down with my Father in his throne. They shall 
he kings and priests unto God and the Father, and live 
and reign with Christ a thousand years. 

Such, my brethren, is the millennial kingdom, the first 
stage in the resurrection glory, and full happiness of the 
children of God. 

4. The everlasting kingdom is the final consumma- 
tion of our blessedness. Then cometh the end. After 
the last judgment of the wicked, when the dead, small 
and great, stand before God, and are judged according 
to their works, and the destruction of death the last 
eneray ; for death and hell shall be cast into the lake of 
fire ; then the new heavens and new earth are com- 
pleted, and the saints of the Most High reign for ever 
and ever. The special dominion of the Son in the 
millennial kingdom will then be laid aside ; the great 
object of it in the subjugation of all his enemies and his 
special exaltation in the scene of his humiliation having 
been accomplished. As the Son of David, in glorified 



STAGES AND HEAVENLY GLORIES. 



319 



humanity, he continues to reign for ever. As the Son of 
God, one with the Father, he for ever shares in the 
worship of the redeemed creation to the invisible God- 
head, But the mediatorial kingdom being no longer 
needed, the Son himself shall be subject unto him thai 
put all things under him, that God may be all in all. 
The throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in the 
heavenly Jerusalem ; and the glory of the Father and of 
the Son inseparably combined together through eternity. 
Here is the last stage of the kingdom of Christ, which 
we will now proceed more fully to unfold. 

II. THE ETERNAL GLORY HERE DE- 
SCRIBED. 

/ saw no temple therein : for the Lord God Almighty 
and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no 
need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it : for 
the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the 
light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved 
shall walk in the light of it : and the kings of the earth 
do bring their glory and honour into it. 

That this description relates to the eternal state we 
judge from the order of the prophecy. In the close of 
the last vision, the apostle had seen a new heaven and a 
new earth ; for the first heaven and the first earth were 
passed away, and there was no more sea. This follows 
the last judgment, when we are told the sea gave up the 
dead which were in it. It has been supposed, because it 
was stated in the 19th chapter, that the marriage of the 
Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready, 
that the description of the Bride, the Lamb's wife, in this 
chapter must apply to the same time. But this is no 



320 



THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST IN ITS 



real objection to this last vision applying to the eternal 
state. The kingdom of David, with the conquest of the 
enemies of Israel, came first, and afterwards the reign of 
Solomon : yet both David and Solomon were clear types 
of our Lord. So the company of saints in these visions 
first appear as armies of heaven (Rev. xix. 14), and share 
with Christ in the subjugation of his enemies, before they 
are fully revealed in the peaceful glory of the heavenly 
Jerusalem, the mansion or city of peace. (Rev. xxi. 1 0. 

Three glorious features are embodied in this descrip- 
tion. 

1. The unveiled presence of God and the Lamb. 

I saw no temple therein : for the Lord God Almighty 
and the Lamb are the temple of it. 

While we are on earth and in our present state, dis- 
tinctions of place and time in worship are needed. The 
Gospel frees us from the bondage of a self-righteous 
observance of them, but does not set them aside as means 
of grace and helps to communion with God. But in this 
final glory the Church triumphant is raised above all 
these outward forms and distinctions into direct and 
immediate fellowship with God. 0 ! what tongue can 
tell, what mind conceive, the clearness, the fulness, the 
joy, the rich variety of blessings then to be attained. 

Let us try to get some glimpse of what the Scriptures 
unveil. Think of their long preparation, even from the 
beginning. They were in the mind and purpose of God 
from eternity. When our Lord bids his saints take 
possession, he says, Inherit the kingdom prepared for 
you from the foundation of the world. The names of 
those who inherit this kingdom were written in the book 
of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the 



STAGES AND HEAVENLY GLORIES. 



321 



world. They were chosen in Christ before the world 
was. And, for 6000 years since, the Lord has been 
gathering and preparing the lively stones for this build- 
ing ; for 6000 years, infinite wisdom, almighty power, 
and boundless love, have been preparing for its blessed- 
ness and glories. The vastness of the preparations, the 
all- sufficiency of him who prepares, the time in which he 
has been at work, show that we cannot conceive of it too 
highly. 

The excellence of the foretaste already, in the pre- 
sent experience of Christians, assures us of the full 
blessedness yet to come. The Holy Spirit of promise is 
now the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption 
of the purchased possession. The kingdom of God 
already is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy 
Ghost. Christians know now the comfort of forgiven 
iniquity through the blood of Jesus ; they glory in his 
blood and righteousness alone ; they have received of his 
Holy Spirit ; they have already tasted that the Lord is 
good ; the light of his love has shed joy in their souls ; 
they have experienced the consolation that is in Christ ; 
they know the sweet feelings of love to others, and the 
happiness of making them happy ; communion with the 
Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ, has filled them 
with holy delight ; they would not exchange such joys 
for all that the world calls good or great. Amidst all 
their trials and temptations, reproaches and difficulties, 
they can rejoice with joy unspeakable and fidl of glory. 
What, then, must be the fulness of joy, when every 
sorrow shall flee away, and every joy be perfected and 
eternal ? 

Think yet farther of the full light or knowledge 

Y 



322 



THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST IN ITS 



there obtained. Now we know in part, and we prophesy 
in part ; but when that which is perfect is come, then 
that which is in part shall be done away. Now ice see 
through a glass darkly, but then face to face. Now 1 
knoio in part, but then shall I know even as also I am 
known. It is plain from these promises, that our know- 
ledge will be unspeakably increased. All those capacities 
which God has given us for knowing and delighting in 
him, and his works and his ways, will be enlarged and 
filled ; fresh light given, and then fresh love continually 
growing and increasing for ever. All that is now difficult 
and obscure, that is now dark and apparently hard and 
severe, will be cleared up and manifested in its true 
character of light and love. All that is now mysterious 
to us will only be found to be the deeper counsels of 
wisdom and goodness. What I do thou knowest not now, 
but thou shalt know hereafter. 

Think again of the perfection of holiness there 
bestowed upon us. We shall be like him, for ice shall 
see him as he is. Not one unclean thing there. All sin 
for ever abolished. Nothing that defiles there. Then 
shall I be satisfied when I awake up after thy likeness ; 
pure as he is pure ; holy as he is holy ; merciful as God 
is merciful ; perfect as he is perfect ; all the fair beauty 
of the Lord our God shall be upon us for ever. This 
inward likeness to God will be joined to a spiritual body 
raised in power, in glory, in incorruption, like the glori- 
fied body of Jesus ; celestial, and fully capable of partak- 
ing with the purified soul of all its holy joys and happy 
dominion. 

Think, once more, as the consummation of all, that in 
this unveiled presence of God and of the Lamb, there 



STAGES AND HEAVENLY GLORIES. 323 

will be the communion of infinite and everlasting 
love. The love which a parent has to a child, provided 
for in all its helplessness, often rescued from imminent 
danger, trained up from its infancy, and fitted for useful- 
ness and happiness, how tender and endeared it is ! such 
delight has the Father, and such delight has the Son, in 
each of his redeemed children. The perfect confidence 
and love of an affectionate child, rejoicing in the smiles 
of a beloved and revered father, how precious it is ! but, 
0 ! how all these figures must fall short of this heavenly 
communion! Even here, he that dwelleth in love 
dwelleth in God and God in him ; and, I trust, many of 
us have tasted all the peace, and heavenly mindedness, 
and joy of such blessed feelings ; but, 0 ! how soon are 
they disturbed by temptations and trials of this life ! 
But there love is the universal atmosphere of the whole 
heavenly kingdom. God is love, and his people partake 
of this his Divine nature for ever. 0 ! dear brethren, 
the full flow, the full joy of love ! It is even now the 
most delightful thing God gives us here below. But to 
be in it and have it in us ; to live in the constant assur- 
ance of unceasing love, without one partial, one selfish, 
one vain, one sinful feeling ; to be ever in the presence, 
the fellowship, the participation of all the joy of the most 
powerful, wise, holy, and good one, the most excellent of 
all beings, and the most beloved of all objects ; basking 
in the full beams of heavenly love, and diffusing those 
beams to others more and more : this is to experience 
that the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the light 
of the heavenly Jerusalem. We are one in him and he 
in us. One in sharing glory, and one in partaking of his 
own blessedness, realizing to the full the promise and the 
y 2 



324: 



THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST IN ITS 



prayer of the Redeemer, the glory which thou gavest me 
I have given them, that they may be one even as we are 
one. I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made 
perfect in one. The very title, the Lord God Almighty, 
shows the all- sufficiency, the covenant security, and the 
omnipotence, hy which this blessedness is assured. The 
union with this title of that of the Lamb on the throne 
shows, also, the Divine glory of Jesus ; and that all this 
bliss is provided through an infinite and all-sufficient 
atonement, and in no other way, for sinful creatures like 
us. Oh ! let us pant after this as our only proper rest ; 
the full and all- satisfying portion of our souls. 
2. The heavenly city itself. 

And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the 
moon, to shine in it : for the glory of God did lighten it, 
and the Lamb is the light thereof. 

The city here spoken of is symbolical : the account of 
it as being 12,000 furlongs in length, breadth, and 
height ; as well as other particulars, clearly manifests the 
figurative character of the description. It signifies the 
general assembly and Church of the first-born ; the true 
Church catholic, in contrast to her spurious counterpart, 
the mystical Babylon, the mother of harlots and abomina- 
tions of the earth. This heavenly city is thus described 
in the Epistle to the Hebrews : — Ye are come unto Mount 
Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly 
Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels ; 
to the general assembly and Church of the first-born. 

A visible glory constantly rests upon this city. As 
when Moses had been in the mount his face shone with 
the glory which he had witnessed ; as on the mount of 
transfiguration the face of Jesus did shine as the sun, and 



STAGES AND HEAVENLY GLORIES. 



325 



his raiment was white as the light, so shall the saints in 
their resurrection glory shine forth as the sun in the 
kingdom of their Father. 

The symbols describing this city in the preceding part 
of the chapter are not exclusive of literal allusions ; but 
we may see in them that the choicest gifts of creation will 
be then centred upon the redeemed of God, to add to their 
glory and blessedness. 

In this description we may learn the perfect com- 
munion which there will be in all parts of this heavenly 
society. The city lieth four square, and the length is as 
large as the breadth ; and the length, and the breadth, 
and the height of it are equal. It is builded as a city 
that is compact and complete in itself ; no jarring, envy, 
jealousy, or pride, even for a moment, have place within 
its borders ; no breach in the walls, no unhewn stone 
or untempered mortar in its building. No ; there is the 
blending together in entire unity of all saints, however 
named here below, of every age, of every clime, of every 
tongue, of every period, from the creation to the return of 
the Lord in glory, and that in mutual joy and perfect 
felicity. All, all are one in the Father and the Son, 
and that for ever. The names of the twelve tribes of the 
children of Israel are on the gates ; and the names of 
the twelve apostles of the Lamb are in the twelve founda- 
tions of the wall of the city. Oh ! the full joy and 
perfection of this union, and the enduring blessedness of 
this everlasting fellowship ! 

From this description we may also gather the 

ABUNDANCE OF SPIRITUAL GRACE. All that is precious, 

beautiful, honourable, and lovely, selected from all lands, 
brought out from the most hidden recesses or the most 



326 



THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST IX ITS 



distant regions, is there gathered together. All manner 
of precious stones, pure gold, pearls, and clear glass, are 
there. Everything that is rare, excellent, and valuahle 
of grace and goodness in all past ages in the souls of 
God's people will there he assembled, perfected, and fully 
manifested. All opposite and contrasted graces wiH then 
]>e shining forth in perfect harmony and beauty ; the 
jasper stone clear as crystal : the city pure gold like unto 
clear glass ; every several gate one pearl ; each founda- 
tion a precious stone of distinct beauty, and perfect in its 
kind and excellence. If the figures he thus glorious, 
what a glory must there he in the completed reality ! 

We learn, further, from this description that angelic 
intercourse will he another part of its glory. The city 
had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels. Thus 
we may see we are there joined to the angelic host ; in 
the language of the Epistle to the Hebrews, We come to 
the innumerable company of angels ; in the language of 
our Lord, They that are counted worthy of that glory are 
equal to the angels ; they dwell with them, intermingling 
in their happy and glorious company for ever. Now the 
angels are rejoicing in each repenting sinner added to the 
heavenly choir ; now they are ministering spirits f minis- 
tering to the heirs of salvation. Oh ! what unfolclings will 
there be in our communion and converse with them here- 
after of all this ministry ; all the watchful care, all the 
needful help, all the deliverances from evil, all the sug- 
gestions of good ! and what streams of love and joy will 
thus pour in on our enraptured souls through eternity ! 

But the fulness of joy is yet higher and deeper, broader 
and longer: it passes knowledge. It is the direct and 
open vision of God in his glorv. Earthlv glories are no 



STAGES AND HEAYENLY GLORIES. 



327 



longer needed now that this glory is manifested. They 
have no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in 
it. Heaven's own light, in pure and perfect day, makes 
needless the brightest present and earthly displays of 
light and glory. When the Lord himself is present these 
displays of his glory become needless ; when the Church 
itself is perfected and visible in its resurrection glory, its 
fairest and most beautiful emblems are not required. 
The glory of God lightens the city, and the Lamb is the 
light thereof. It was the greatest privilege of the Jewish 
high priest, for a transient period, once in the year to 
enter into the Holiest of Holies, and behold there a 
glorious manifestation of God. This will be our portion 
in a fuller glory, and that unceasingly and for ever. The 
Lamb will be the light of that temple, not only as having 
himself redeemed all for it, but as himself unfolding to 
us the glorious character of our God, and himself forming 
one grand theme of all our songs and praise. With 
what joy shall we traverse through all the heights, and 
lengths, and depths, and breadths of Divine love, and 
mark all the fountains which supply those streams of 
grace and love that gladden all creation ! How will each 
attribute and perfection of God, and the wonders of 
his past providence, and the riches of his present love, 
and the exhaustless provision for yet unknown and endless 
blessings, continually furnish us with fresh springs of 
joy ! As they are laid open to our admiring souls by the 
Lamb which is in the midst of the throne, feeding us and 
leading us unto these living fountains, they will cause us 
again and again to burst out with exulting exclamations of 
glad surprise, Who is a God like unto thee ? in thy pre- 
sence is fulness of joy ; at thy right hand there are 



328 



THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST IN ITS 



pleasures for evermore. How will the opening out, and 
the full shining upon us, of those bright and blessed 
truths, in the Scripture the last recorded descriptions of 
our God, God is light, and God is love, swell the 
universal song ! All the redeemed and angelic host will 
through eternity rejoice in singing, Blessing, and honour, 
and glory, and power, he unto him that sitteth upon the 
throne, and unto the Lamb for ever. 

But is all this bliss and glory selfishly confined to the 
heavenly regions? are the joys of doing good to others 
in need of our help lost to us there ? Is there no provision 
made for the exercise of those gracious habits of mercy 
and goodness which God has taught all his children here 
below ? 

It is not so. Let us proceed to consider another 
remarkable part of our subject. 

3. The nations who walk in the light of this 

CITY. 

The nations of them which are saved shall walk in the 
light of it; and the kings of the earth do bring their 
glory and honour into it. 

This, it may be allowed, is a mysterious part of our 
subject, but little known and thought of, but little consi- 
dered and understood by the Church in this day. Yet it 
is not dimly revealed in the Word of God. The common 
conception among Christians has often been as if the 
redeeming love of God was exhausted in the company of 
the elect who meet the Lord at his appearing, and are 
thenceforth, ever with the Lord. But a deeper and closer 
search into the Scriptures reveals a further mystery of 
Divine goodness. The words of our text here clearly 
teach us that there are nations on the earth who walk in 



STAGES AND HEAVENLY GLORIES. 



329 



the light of the city, as distinct from the city itself ; that 
there are kings over those nations, and that they bring 
their glory and honour to it.* This is a deeply nryste- 
rious but unspeakably magnificent truth. Let us mark its 
harmony with other parts of Divine truth. 

1. Its consistency with the events of judgment. 

If the resurrection of the righteous and the wicked, 
and the general judgment of all men took place at one 
time and in the same day, none would, none could be left, 
as the heads and parents of a redeemed people on earth. 
But the Holy Scriptures reveal to us a progress in judg- 
ment, and that the resurrection of the righteous and the 
wicked are clearly distinct in time. There is the first 
resurrection of the saints at the commencement of the 
millennium, and after the thousand years the rest of the 
dead live and are judged. 

At the return of the Lord Jesus to our earth, the 
saints are raised and changed, and meet the Lord in the 
air, and are judged according to their works, as the 
Redeemer promises, Behold, I come quickly ; and my 
reward is with me, to give every man according as his 
work shall be. Each is welcomed with those joyful 
words, Well done, thou good and faithful servant : thou 
hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee 
ruler over many things ; enter thou into the joy of thy 
Lord. This takes place at the time of the first resur- 
rection. 

When the saints have thus been translated to their 

* " We must distinguish between the state of the new Jerusa- 
lem and the state of the nations which shall walk in the light 
thereof. They shall not be both one, but much differing." — 
Mede, 772. 



330 



THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST IX ITS 



glory, no believers are left upon the earth ; darkness 
covers the earth, and gross darkness the people. The 
great day of the Lord's wrath is upon all nations. It is 
the season of righteous judgment ; the time of the great 
tribulation ; the third icoe. The solemn language of 
Isaiah thus describes the course of this judgment : Behold, 
the Lord icill come with fire, and with his chariots like a 
whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke 
with flames of fire. For by fire and by his sword will 
the Lord plead icith all flesh : and the slain of the Lord 
shall be many. The curse hath devoured the earth, and 
they that dwell therein are desolate ; therefore the in- 
habitants of the earth are burned, and few men left. 
The enmity of the wicked, after the resurrection and 
translation of the saints, seems to be chiefly directed 
against the part of the Jewish nation which, restored to 
their own land, trusts in the law of Moses, and has not 
received the true Messiah. This brings upon them those 
heavy judgments so often predicted in the Word of God. 
The judgments fall first on the Jewish nation, and then 
on the apostate nations ; the people of Israel behold the 
pierced Saviour, and repent ; and many of the Gentiles 
remember and turn unto the Lord, and are spared and 
preserved ; and they, thus delivered, form the inhabitants 
on our earth during the millennial kingdom, who are sub- 
ject to Christ and his saints. Thus, in the midst of the 
judgments in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will 
learn righteousness, and all shall finally yield avowed sub- 
jection to God. The subjection during the millennium not 
being indeed a complete and full subjection of the heart to 
him, the corruption of man will, at its close, have a yet 
farther manifestation. During the millennium the faithful 



STAGES AND HEAVENLY GLORIES. 



331 



are mingled with those who only yield a feigned obedience, 
as we see predicted in the close of the prophecies, both of 
Isaiah (Ixv. 20) and Zechariah (xiv. 17—19). The last 
rebellion after the millennium is distinctly described in 
the Book of Revelation : When the thousand years are 
expired, Satan shall he loosed out of his prison, and shall 
go out to deceive the nations which are in the four 
quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them 
together to battle. The objects of their enmity are the 
camp of the saints and the beloved city, and the extent of 
the rebellion affects the whole earth. And they went 
up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the 
camp of the saints about, and the beloved city : and 
fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured 
them. The camp of the saints, therefore, and the 
beloved city, are protected and delivered by the imme- 
diate interposition of God, just as before the millen- 
nium the Jewish nation in part, and many of the Gen- 
tiles, had been delivered. This last open apostasy of the 
wicked finally separates all the believers, and removes 
them from the earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. 
They are first slain by fire, and afterwards raised with 
the rest of the wicked dead for judgment. But no 
change is then mentioned as passing on the Jewish 
nation or on the living righteous, who continue faithful to 
God, as in the translation of the saints before the millen- 
nium. The object of the rebellion, to overthrow the 
camp of the saints and the beloved city, fails of its design. 
God protects them. The living righteous, then, after the 
millennium, may yet continue a seed to serve God, and 
in successive generations be trained up for heavenly 
glory. 



332 THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST IN ITS 

The doctrine of our text is therefore clearly consistent 
with the events of judgment, as elsewhere described in 
the Word of God. 

2. Its truth is also distinctly revealed in many 
testimonies of Scripture, both in the Old and the New 
Testament. A few proofs will show this : — 

The covenant with Noah was an everlasting covenant 
between God and every living creature of all flesh that 
is upon the earth for perpetual generations. The cove- 
nant with Abraham is called by the Psalmist the word 
which he commanded to a thousand generations. Which 
covenant he made with Abraham, and his oath unto 
Isaac ; and confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law, 
and to Israel for an everlasting covenant: saying, Unto 
thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your 
inheritance. (Ps. cv.) The land of Canaan was given 
to them as an everlasting possession. (Gen. xvii.) So 
Moses describes the Lord as keeping covenant and mercy 
with them that love him and keep his commandments to 
a thousand generations. This period of a thousand 
generations, thus repeatedly mentioned, would reach far 
beyond the close of the millennium. 

The promise made in Isaiah concerning the kingdom 
of Christ and his reigning on the throne of David are in 
the strongest expressions of never-ending continuance : 
Of the increase of his government and peace there shall 
be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his king- 
dom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and 
with justice from henceforth even for ever. The same 
promise of perpetuity is often given to the people of 
Israel. Two testimonies from the Old Testament, from 
many similar ones, may show this. Thy people shall be 



STAGES AND HEAVENLY GLORIES. 333 

all righteous : they shall inherit the land for ever, the 
branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I 
may be glorified. (Isa. lx. 21.) Corresponding with 
this is that very full and clear promise in Ezekiei (xxxvii. 
25 — 28), And they shall dwell in the land that I have 
given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have 
dwelt ; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and 
their children, and their children s children for ever : 
and my servant David shall be their prince for ever. 
Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them ; 
it shall be an everlasting covenant with them : and I 
will place them, and multiply them, and will set my 
sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. My 
tabernacle also shall be with them : yea, I will be their 
God, and they shall be my people. And the Heathen 
shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel, when 
my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for ever- 
more. The plain and obvious meaning of such passages 
would lead us to the conclusion of a continuance both 
of Israel and Gentile nations in a state of righteous- 
ness on our earth. The consistency of this with the 
last fire described in St. Peter, and the new heavens 
and the new earth afterwards to come forth, is ex- 
plained in statements in the fifty-first chapter of Isaiah 
predicting these events. It is first said, The heavens 
shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old 
like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in 
like manner ; and yet it is afterwards added in the same 
prophecy, / have covered thee in the shadow of mine 
hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the founda- 
tions of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art my 
people. (See also Isa. liv. 7 — 10.) So in a later pro- 




334 



THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST IN ITS 



phecy in the same book it is said, Behold, I create new 
heavens and a new earth : and the former shall not he 
•remembered, nor come into mind. But be ye glad and 
rejoice for ever in that which I create : for, behold, I 
create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. 
And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people : 
and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, 
nor the voice of crying. Thus remarkable are the proofs 
in the Old Testament of the perpetual continuance of the 
Jewish nation on our earth. 

In the New Testament we have many similar promises. 
The angel from heaven, in announcing the miraculous 
conception of the Divine Redeemer to his virgin mother, 
declares, The Lord God shall give unto him the throne 
of his father David : and he shall reign over the house 
of Jacob for ever ; and of his kingdom there shall be 
no end. The apostle closes his prayer for the Ephesians 
by leading us to the same wonderful fact of a perpetual 
continuance of the Church on earth. Unto God be glory 
in the Church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world 
without end ; or, as it might be rendered, throughout all 
the generations of the age of ages (eis iraaas ras yeveas 
rov aiavos ra>v aicovcov). The apostle James, speaking of 
believers, says, Of his own will begat he us with the word 
of truth, that we should be a kind of first-fruits of his 
creatures. (James i. 18.) Thus the Christian Church is 
described as only the first-fruits of a glorious harvest yet 
to be reaped from our earth. So in the description in the 
Hebrews of the future glory and of the heavenly society 
partaking of it, there is not only the general assembly 
and Church of the first-born, which are written in 
heaven, but the spirits of just men made perfect, which 



STAGES AND HEAVENLY GLORIES. 



335 



seems to refer to those gathered after the number of the 
Church of the first-horn is completed. 

3. The promises to the Church, scattered through the 
Scriptures, of reigning hereafter oyer the earth 
furnish another proof of the perpetual continuation of 
men living in the flesh on our earth. Thus Daniel, in one 
of the strongest expressions of perpetuity in the Scrip- 
tures, says, The saints of the Most High shall take the 
kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for 
ever and ever. Our Lord thus assures the twelve apostles 
and all his faithful followers, Verily I say unto you, 
That ye which have followed me in the regeneration, 
when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his 
glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the 
twelve tribes of Israel. And every one that hath for- 
saken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or 
mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's 
sake, shall receive an hundred fold, and shall inherit 
everlasting life. (Matt. xix. 28, 29.) St. Paul fre- 
quently brings forward this truth, Do ye not know that 
the saints shall judge the world ? . . , . Know ye not that 
we shall judge angels ? (1 Cor. vi. 2, 3.) He tells 
Timothy, If we suffer, we shall also reign with him. 
The same thing is frequently mentioned in the Book of 
Revelation ; two passages may suffice : Thou hast made 
us unto our God kings and priests : and we shall reign 
on the earth, (v. 10.) The Lord God giveth them 
light ; and they shall reign for ever and ever. 

Here, then, are the true kings of the earth who bring 
their glory and honour into the heavenly Jerusalem. 
From every part of a redeemed earth they are continually 
gathering tribute to swell the full tide of heavenly joy. 



336 



THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST IN ITS 



and increase the triumphant chorus of those eternal hal- 
lelujahs, which the works and ways, the grace and good- 
ness, the bounties and loving-kindness of the one God 
and Father of all, will, through eternity, occasion to his 
happy creatures. 

In these things you may see the scriptural illustration 
of my text: The nations of them which are saved shall 
walk in the light of the heavenly Jerusalem : and the 
kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into 
it. 

Oh, how vast, then, and glorious is the plan op 
human redemption ! If we look at the superior glory 
of those who have, through the 6000 years that our 
world has existed, honoured God by believing his truth 
and living according to his will, how infinitely desirable 
is their portion ! Think of them as invested with a 
heavenly sovereignty through eternity. Think of them as 
shining as the brightness of the firmament, and as the 
stars, for ever and ever. You will then enter into the 
ardour of the apostle's feelings : Tea doubtless, and I 
count all things but loss for the excellency of the know- 
ledge of Christ Jesus my Lord : . . . . that I may know 
him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship 
of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death ; 
if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of 

the dead This one thing I do, forgetting those 

things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those 
things which are before, I press toward the mark for the 
prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. You 
will see why Moses counted the reproach of Christ 
greater riches than all the treasures of Egypt : for he 
had respect unto the recompence of reward ; and why 



STAGES AND HEAVENLY GLORIES. 



337 



ail the patriarchs desired a better country, that is, an 
heavenly, wherefore God is not ashamed to be called 
their God ; for he hath prepared for them a city. 

But this is but one part of the full purposes of God's 
wisdom. For he means, also, by Christ, to reconcile all 
things unto himself, whether they be things in earth, or 
things in heaven. The holy angels have themselves an 
intense interest in human redemption : which things the 
angels desire to look into. All are to see what is the 
fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of 
the world hath been hid in God, icho created all things 
by Jesus Christ : to the intent that now unto the princi- 
palities and powers in heavenly places might be known 
by the Church the manifold wisdom of God, according 
to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus 
our Lord. 

Nor merely affects it heaven and earth. At the name 
of Jesus every knee shall bow, of things in heaven, and 
things in earth, and things under the earth ; and it is 
ordained that every tongue should confess that Jesus 
Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. He has 
the keys of hell and death. Even the vessels of wrath, 
fitted to destruction, shall both show his wrath and make 
his power known ; and illustrate for ever the evil of sin, 
in their being an abhorring unto all flesh. (Isa. lxvi. 24.) 

But in those new heavens and that new earth, wherein 
dwelleth righteousness, for which we look, when the 
kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our 
Lord and his Christ, and he shall reign for ever, will be 
the unceasing, the eternal displays of the glories of his 
goodness. Unto him be glory in the Church by Christ 
Jesus throughout all the generations of the age of ages. 

z 



338 



THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST IN ITS 



In the dispensation of the fulness of times he will 
gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are 
in the heavens, and which are on earth ; even in him. 
We are now in spirit raised up together, and made to 
sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus ; that in 
the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his 
grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. 
We, ourselves, blessed, and made a blessing to others for 
ever. We enjoying the unspeakable blessing of com- 
municating constant streams of benefits and happiness as 
kings and priests unto God and the Father, reigning over 
the earth to accomplish all his designs of goodness in a 
new creation ; which he will once more pronounce to 
be altogether good, with a goodness which shall never 
more be marred nor interrupted. 

Such is the vast and glorious scheme of human re- 
demption. Such is the eternal kingdom of Christ the 
Lord. It is fixed and unchangeable : there shall be 
no more sea. Probably, no literal sea ; certainly, 
no troubled sea of disquieted and wicked men. Three- 
fourths of our world are now taken up by the uncertain 
waves of the tumultuous ocean ; but then the Prince of 
Peace reigns ; of the increase of his Government and 
peace there shall be no end. There shall be abundance of 
peace so long as the moon endureth. 

We must hasten to consider the practical lessons 

WHICH THIS SUBJECT TEACHES. 

L We may learn to b,eware of a worldly spirit. 
This spirit has been the temptation of men living in this 
world in all ages. Faith alone gives us victory over the 
world. Secularity, or love of the world, is the grand 
temptation of the Church at this time. It enters into 



STAGES AND HEAVENLY GLORIES. 



339 



religion, and religion becomes sensuous ; and we glory 
in music and architecture, and dress and outside show, 
and form ; instead of the life, the spirit, and the power of 
godliness. 

We think to prevail by talent and influence and human 
means, instead of by the truths of the Gospel, and the 
preaching those truths, not tuith enticing words of mans 
wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power. 
This worldly spirit enters into our faith, and then our 
faith ceases to be a simple reliance on the Word of God, 
and requires human authority and traditions and consent 
of divines to prop up its weakness. The traditional 
spirit, so far as it prevails, is a cover of unbelief, under 
the affected mask of diffidence and humility. If we 
cannot obtain truth from Scripture, if that is an insuf- 
ficient authority for us, it will necessarily lead to universal 
scepticism. This worldly spirit enters into our works, 
and then they become the works of a hireling, in a spirit 
of bondage ; or the works of self-righteousness and human 
merit, in the vain notion of purchasing a reward from 
Him who has given us eternal life in Christ ; and they 
cease to be the glad and grateful offerings of a free 
spirit and a redeemed soul, ever flowing from the faith 
and love of the Gospel. We see this secularity wholly 
prevailing in the world ; to attain wealth is, with a large 
proportion, the great end of existence. In the very face 
of our Lord's declaration to the contrary, they think that 
a man's life consists in the abundance of the things he 
possesses; and, regardless of the sufferings of others, 
the spirit of emulation and love of this world hurries 
them into temptations and snares, and many foolish and 
hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and per- 

z 2 



340 



THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST IN ITS 



dition. The poor lose, thus, that precious faith which is 
eminently their privilege, for God hath chosen the poor of 
this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which 
he hath promised to them that love him. The poor having 
no faith, waste their hard earnings by grovelling in reck- 
less self-indulgence, such as they can get, to their own 
misery and that of their families. They are spent with 
cares for what they shall eat, and what they shall drink, 
and wherewithal they shall be clothed : and not pursuing 
God's method of obtaining this, seeking first his kingdom 
and his righteousness, they become murmurers and com- 
plainers ; speak evil of dignities, and are filled with a 
spirit of self-will and lawlessness, enmity, and insubordi- 
nation. Thus one class of society has become alienated 
from another. The rich become hardened against the 
poor; they withdraw and diminish all help from them 
more and more ; they exaggerate their faults, and justify 
their own selfish course as policy and wisdom, even 
towards the poor themselves. They more and more 
gratify themselves in luxurious indulgences at the very 
time they are stinting in everything those beneath them, 
and working to the utmost those dependant on them. 0 ! 
my brethren ; ye cannot serve God and Mammon. Hear 
how our Lord meets all this worldliness ; Take heed to 
yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged 
with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, 
and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a 
snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of 
the whole earth. Watch ye, therefore, and pray always 
that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things 
that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man. 
If I believe the world is quickly passing away, and the 



STAGES AND HEAVENLY GLORIES. 



341 



lust thereof, and only he that doeth the will of God abideth 
for ever: If I believe that the heavens shall soon pass away 
with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent 
heat ; the earth also, and the works that are therein, shall 
be burned up : Looking for such things, I shall be diligent 
to be found of the Lord in peace, without spot, and blame- 
less : I shall set my affections on things above, and not on 
things on the earth ; knowing that when Christ, who is 
our life, shall appear, then shall we also appear with 
him in glory. The blessed hope of his heavenly kingdom 
will be like the light of the sun at noon-day, which makes 
all artificial light needless, and extinguishes all lesser 
brightness in the full day of its own glory. If you are 
governed by a worldly spirit, depend upon it you have 
not Christ formed in you the hope of glory. If any man 
love the world the love of the Father is not in him. 

Let us hence be guarded against opposite dangers of 
these perilous times. All this glory of which we have 
been speaking is reserved for the true children of God. 
It is their rich reward for faithfulness to Christ in the 
midst of peculiar temptations to unfaithfulness. Such 
temptations there arc in the present day. The extensive 
revival of pure religion has provoked, as it ever did, a 
tremendous reaction on the part of the god of this world. 
The unclean spirits are all abroad seeking to defile and 
pollute. Thus it was in the days of Christ. You have, 
in the New Testament, the key of much that, in the 
present state of things, seems mysterious, secret, and 
contradictory. When John the Baptist preached, Repent 
ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand ; there went out 
to him Jerusalem and all Judea. There was a great 
revival of religion. The chief priests and elders, indeed, 



342 



THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST IN ITS 



Would not own that his ministry was of God, hut all the 
people held John to he a prophet. When our Lord's 
awakening ministry followed, his fame went throughout 
all Syria, and everywhere multitudes thronged to hear 
him. This provoked the wrath and envy of his enemies, 
and stirred them up to great exertions. But while He- 
rodians, Pharisees, and Sadducees, were all really against 
Christ, they feared the people, and were opposed to each 
other. The Sadducees were the Infidels and Neologists 
of their day, rejecting the great peculiarities of Divine 
revelation. Our Lord Jesus Christ and his apostles inter- 
rupted their vain dreams of worldly pleasure and eujoy- 
ment, and thence they hecame hitter, zealous, and 
inveterate opposers of his kingdom. The Pharisees were 
the superstitious of their day. When they saw the suc- 
cessful progress of the kingdom they were roused to won- 
derful exertions, compassing sea and land to make one 
proselyte. Our Lord and his true followers were not- 
religious enough for them. They hlamed them hecause 
they did not fast, wash, and keep the traditions of the 
elders. He himself was accounted hy them a gluttonous 
man and a wine-bibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. 
They themselves were, in their view, the only true Church. 
They said, We know that God spake unto Moses, but as 
for this fellow, we know not whence he is. They set 
aside God's Word for human traditions. But, when they 
determined to put down our Lord Christ, Herodians, 
Pharisees, and Sadducees, united with one accord, and 
prevailed also, to crucify the Lord of glory, and the 
people joined in the cry, Crucify him ! The true fol- 
lowers of our Lord seem, at this time, to have "been 
reduced to a few hundreds. Yet this faithful few was 



STAGES AND HEAVENLY GLORIES. 



343 



the beginning of the Christian Church, and from 
those that in the hour of danger deserted Christ, 
and even were among his worst enemies, he, in the 
riches of his grace, gathered a goodly multitude both 
of priests and people, adding to the Church daily 
such as should be saved and be trophies of his loving- 
kindness for ever. The circumstances of our times in 
many respects are similar. God granted by his faithful 
servants, now gone to their rest and reward, a gracious 
revival of truth in his Churches. This has spread, and 
called forth from different classes of opponents great 
hostility. Severe temptations, such as his first faithful 
disciples passed through, seem now at hand. My bre- 
thren, if we would inherit this glory, we must keep the 
word of Christ patiently, and not deny his name ; and 
oh ! may he keep us faithful to him in the hour of 
temptation which shall come upon all the world, to try 
them that dwell upon the earth. Let us adhere to the 
Word of God, whether the Infidel seek to pervert it, or 
the superstitious to displace it by vain traditions. Oh ! 
forget not that there was a great zeal for outward reli- 
gion, and for their peculiar notions to the very last, in 
the zealots who perished in the destruction of Jerusalem. 
Let us not then be deluded, either by philosophy falsely 
so called, or by the form of godliness, while the power 
is denied. Let us belong to the little flock, to whom it 
is the Father s good pleasure to give the kingdom, and 
be encouraged by the hope, that through our faithfulness 
God may yet gather, even from those who now most 
bitterly oppose his truth, multitudes who shall be ever- 
lastingly saved. 



344 



THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST IN ITS 



Let us also prepare for the solemn realities of 

THE JUDGMENT TO COME. 

Everything we say or do affects our standing at that 
time. Each word and each act, each indulged secret of 
the heart, is like seed huried in the ground that will all 
spring forth afresh ; its character will he manifested in 
the judgment, and its consequences affect us through 
eternity. It is not only important that we huild on the 
foundation which is laid in Zion, Jesus Christ, hut also 
that we place durable works there. Now if any man 
build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, 
wood, hay, stubble ; every mans work shall be made 
manifest : for the day shall declare it, because it shall 
be revealed by fire ; and the fire shall try every man's 
work of what sort it is. If any mans ivork abide 
which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. 
If any mans work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss : 
but he himself shall be saved ; yet so as by fire. None 
will escape this judgment. We must all appear before 
the judgment-seat of Christ ; that every one may receive 
the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, 
whether it be good or bad. The judgment is infallibly 
certain to every human being. None will escape because 
of their greatness as above it, or because of their degra- 
dation as beneath it. None will escape because of their 
badness, as if their case were so self-evident as to render 
it needless, or because of their goodness, as if it were so 
manifest, that judgment did not concern them. God 
will make his equity and love, his righteousness and 
goodness, in all his dealings with all his creatures, mani- 
fest in that day to all creation. Oh, solemn and awful 



STAGES AND HEAVENLY GLORIES, 345 

day ! wlien God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus 
Christ, according to his Gospel. 0 Lord, thou wilt 
be justified when thou speakest, and clear when thou 
judgest. 

This day, then, is at hand. The judgment of the 
righteous takes place first ; it is now very near. The 
time of judgment may come hefore ; in the ordinary 
course of nature, the younger amongst us might die. 
Never could it he so emphatically said as now, Stablish 
your hearts, for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. 
Behold, the Judge standeth before the door. Live, then, 
in the constant contemplation of this coming judgment. 
Act in the constant view of its solemn decisions. Dread, 
ahove all dread, heing unprepared to meet your God. 
Desire, ahove all desire, to be ready for the coming of 
the Son of man. For in such an hour as you think not, 
the cry will go forth, Behold, the Bridegroom cometh ; 
go ye out to meet him. 

Meditate on the vastness of the glory reserved 
for God's people. Many are the directions of Scrip- 
ture to set our affections on things ahove ; to look not at 
the things which are seen, but at the things which are not 
seen. We are waiting for the adoption, to wit, the re- 
demption of our body. For we are saved by hope. Our 
Lord himself, for the joy set before him, endured the 
cross, and all the saints have thus had respect to the 
recompence of reward. We ought to know that we have 
eternal life. Thus shall we be enabled to be faithful 
amidst the faithless ; loving amidst the selfish ; bold 
amidst the timid ; and decided for God when all are 
falling away ; and yet, at the same time, with all that 
sympathy, tenderness, and compassion, which become those 




346 



THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST IN ITS 



still in the body and subject to temptation, and often 
themselves falling. Oh, what a glory, dear brethren, may 
yet be ours ! The sufferings of the present time are not 
worthy to he compared with the glory ivhich shall be 
revealed in us. It is an exceeding and eternal tueight of 
glory. It is so great, that Christ himself comes from 
heaven to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in 
all them that believe. Think of our bodies, fashioned 
like unto his glorious body, spiritual, incorruptible, raised 
in power and in glory. Think of our inward man, per- 
fectly conformed in every thought and wish, feeling and 
affection, to the holy, spiritual, heavenly, meek, and 
loving mind of Jesus. Think of our being companions of 
such for ever. Think, then, of the direct communion 
with Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, in eternal glory ; the 
angels our co-equals, the new heavens our eternal home ; 
promoting the happiness of the new earth, our own happy 
employment, and this for ever and ever. Oh ! does not 
the heart pant after this, and amidst all the troubles and 
conflicts of this present scene, are we not often saying, 
Oh, that I had icings like a dove, then would I fee away, 
and be at rest : Then shall / sit down with Abraham, 
and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven : Then 
shall I see the fathers of old, who lived before the deluge : 
Then shall I be with patriarchs, and judges, and righteous 
kings who followed ; the glorious company of the apostles, 
the goodly fellowship of the prophets, the noble army of 
martyrs, the holy Church throughout all the world are 
there, All I have loved in Christ below; all whose 
thoughts and works have proved they loved the Saviour, 
and have endeared them to my soul, will be there. Nor 
these alone. Then shall we realize the rapturous song 



STAGES AND HEAVENLY GLORIES. 



347 



which has so often below raised our souls to God, " We 
praise thee, 0 God, we acknowledge thee to be the Lord. 
All the earth doth worship thee, the Father everlasting. 
To thee all angels cry aloud. The heavens, and all the 
powers therein. To thee cherubim and seraphim con- 
tinually do cry, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Sabaoth. 
Heaven and earth are full of the majesty of thy glory." 
This scene of bliss is before us ; this glory is at hand. 
Meditate upon it. Live for it. 

Once more, behold with adoring admiration the 

UNSEARCHABLE RICHES OF THE LOVE OF GOD. The whole 

earth is indeed now full of his goodness; so is the great 
and wide sea. The heavens declare his glory. It is seen 
in every plant and flower, and in the whole face of 
creation ; and the death of Jesus on the cross may solve 
all apparent contradictions to this love, and show us that 
there must be love in that which seems hardest and 
severest. But when we contemplate the heavenly glory, 
when we meditate on the kingdom which he has prepared 
for them that love him, surely our hearts must burn 
within us in the view of so much wholly unmerited loving- 
kindness. When we rejoice in hope of the glory of God, 
we can glory in tribulation also, and experience the hope 
that malceth not ashamed, because the love of God is shed 
abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given 
unto us. That he should be mindful of such sinful crea- 
tures as we have been ; that he should redeem us at such 
a costly price as the blood of his Son ; that when re- 
deemed, having chosen us before the world began, he 
should call us, justify us, adopt us into his family, sanctify 
us, and make us meet for the inheritance of the saints in 
light. That he should then, from the foundation of the 



348 



THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST, &C. 



world, prepare for us such a mansion, such a kingdom, 
such companions, such a glory, such a sovereignty, for 
ever and ever ! Oh how must our souls be lost in ador- 
ing admiration of such unsearchable riches of love ! How 
should we exult in our God, and glory in his holy name ! 
How should we love him who has so loved us, and go from 
the contemplation of this glory with joy and alacrity, now 
to take up our cross and follow Christ ; now cheerfully 
to submit to present burdens and trials ; now to fight the 
good fight of faith, to run with patience the race that is 
set before us, to keep the faith, to finish our course, and 
to lay hold on eternal life ! 



LECTURE XII. 



THE DUTY OF PRAYER AND WATCHFULNESS IN 
THE PROSPECT OF THE LORD'S COMING. 



BY THE REV. JAMES HALDANE STEWART, M.A., 

INCUMBENT OF ST. BRIDE'S, LIVERPOOL. 



Rev. XVI. 15. 

" Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, 
and keepeth his garments." 

This remarkable sentence is taken from a part of this 
interesting prophecy, which many approved expositors 
believe to be now receiving a partial accomplishment. 

The text attracts our attention by the significant word 
with which it commences, " Behold an expression 
which, according to the idiom of the sacred Scriptures, is 
usually employed to usher in an event which merits 
peculiar notice. Thus, the angel who addressed the 
shepherds said to them, " Fear not: for, behold, I bring 
you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 
For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a 
Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." In the same manner, 
the Apostle Paul writes to the Corinthians, " Behold, I 



350 



DUTY OF PRAYER AND WATCHFULNESS 



shew you a mystery ; We shall not all sleep, hut we shall 
all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, 
at the last trump ; for the trumpet shall sound, and the 
dead shall he raised incorruptible, and we shall he 
changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, 
and this mortal must put on immortality." So the 
Prophet Isaiah, " Behold, the Lord hath proclaimed to 
the end of the earth, Behold, thy salvation cometh ; 
behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.' , 
This word, therefore, may well excite our earnest regard, 
since it would not have been used, unless something of 
more than ordinary importance were to follow. 

The text is still further remarkable from its singular 
position. It stands as a parenthesis in the midst of the 
pouring out of one of the most eventful of the vials of the 
wrath of Glod. For in the prophetic description of this 
vial, we are told, first, of the drying up of tlie great river 
Euphrates, that the way of the kings of the east may be 
prepared ; and we then read of the active energy of three 
unclean spirits like frogs, the spirits of devils working 
miracles, going forth unto the kings of the earth and of 
the whole world, to gather them to the battle of the great 
day of God Almighty. 

But, whilst the word by which the text is introduced, 
and the position in which it stands, may make it inte- 
resting, its chief attraction consists in this, that, if we 
may avail ourselves of such a simile, it may remind us of 
the shrill sound of the trumpet at the dawn of day — the 
" la reveillee," or the morning call, to the troops — for it 
is a note of warning given by our blessed Saviour to 
awaken the slumbering members of his Church, and to 
prepare them for his near approach. It is also a word of 



IN PROSPECT OF THE LORD'S COMING. 351 



encouragement graciously intended to strengthen the 
faith, animate the hope, quicken the zeal, and dissipate 
the fear of his faithful people. I have, therefore, selected 
this striking portion of Holy Writ, as peculiarly appro- 
priate to the subject appointed for the concluding lecture 
of this series of discourses, which your much-esteemed 
and "beloved minister has requested me to deliver. The 
appointed subject is, " The Duty of Watchfulness and 
Prayer in the Prospect of the Coming of our Lord;" a 
subject eminently practical, and one which proves that 
the object of the Lord's servants who arranged the 
syllabus of this course was, not to proclaim any fanciful 
theory or speculative opinion, but, by the Divine blessing, 
to impress the hearers with that deep tone of piety which 
the unveiling the future prospects of the Church is so 
well calculated to produce. 

The distance from the metropolis at which I reside has 
prevented my having the privilege of hearing any of the 
preceding lectures ; I am unable, therefore, to speak of 
their details ; but of the great subject of the course, the 
coming of our Lord in glory and majesty, in its general 
features, surely, my beloved friends, we may say, bearing 
in mind his death and resurrection, if there be any one 
topic more than another calculated to solemnize the mind, 
to bring us as lowly suppliants to the Throne of Grace, 
and to lead to watchfulness and prayer, while at the same 
time it cheers and animates the spirit, filling it with that 
blessed hope, which led the Apostles, the army of martyrs, 
and, we may add, our Protestant forefathers, to " count 
all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of 
Christ Jesus their Lord." If there be any subject calcu- 
lated to produce these blessed effects, it is " the glorious 



352 



DUTY OF PRAYER AND WATCHFULNESS 



appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus 
Christ." 

Let me, then, entreat your silent hut fervent prayers, 
that the aid of the Holy Spirit may be granted, while I 
attempt to open and improve the awakening announcement 
of our blessed Lord, — " Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed 
is he that watcheth and keepeth his garments." 

Without entering into the other topics to which my 
text might give rise, allow me to call your attention, 
First, to the suddenness of the advent of our Lord, 
" Behold, I come as a thief ';" and secondly, to His 
encouraging counsel, " Blessed is he that watcheth, and 
keepeth his garments." 

E Observe the suddenness with which our Lord will 
come. 

Here we may profitably notice how frequently and how 
emphatically this stirring fact is declared in the Word of 
God. It would seem as if the Holy Spirit, being fully 
aware of the tendency, even in sincere Christians, to 
forget the future return of the Lord, were for this reason 
desirous to impress upon the Church, in a manner the 
most awakening, the important truth, that He will come 
at a time when he is least expected. For, if we read the 
Holy Scriptures with attention, we shall see, that the 
illustrations employed to describe the second coming 
of the Son of man, are those which most clearly and 
strikingly manifest the suddenness with which he will 
appear. 

His advent is at one time compared to a flash of 
lightning. Thus we find, in Matt. xxiv. 27, " As the light- 
ning coming out of the east, and shineth even unto the 



IN PROSPECT OF THE LORD'S COMING. 353 

west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." 
We know how suddenly a flash of lightning appears. At 
such a season, it may be, the clouds previously cover the 
heavens ; there is the appearance of a gathering storm ; 
but when and where it will burst, no one can say. In an 
instant, the flash is seen lighting up the heavens. Thus 
our Lord will come. 

In another passage, the advent of our Lord is com- 
pared to a snare which suddenly entraps the prey. How 
unexpected is this ! The unsuspecting bird, it may be, 
is singing among the branches, not anticipating any evil. 
She invites her brood to descend and take some small 
particle of food, which her maternal eye has discerned 
upon the grass. In the moment of her descent, with 
all her young about her, she finds, too late, that this 
tempting morsel was but a bait. She is taken in the snare, 
and thus falls into the hands of the fowler. Thus, again 
it is written, shall be the coming of the Son of man : 
" Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be 
overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares 
of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. 
For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the 
face of the whole earth." (Luke xxi. 34, 35.) 

In a third place, the coming of our Lord is compared 
to the destruction of the old world and the overthrow of 
Sodom and Gomorrah. How sudden were these events ! 
" They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they 
were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered 
into the ark ; and the flood came, and destroyed them all." 
Such was the deluge ! And in the narrative of the 
burning of Sodom, the Holy Spirit hath, in a peculiar 
manner, set forth how unexpectedly this awful judgment 

A A 



354 



DUTY OF PRATER AND WATCHFULNESS 



was sent. It is written, " Tlie sun was risen upon the 
earth iclien Lot entered into Zoar" Thus, when the 
inhabitants of Sodom awoke, they perceived nothing 
peculiar in the morning sky. The sun appeared with his 
accustomed brightness, and no evil seemed to portend the 
city. The inhabitants went forth to buy and sell, to eat 
and drink, as they had done on the preceding day. 
" Then" it is said, at this moment of apparent calm and 
dazzling sunshine, " the Lord rained upon Sodom, and 
upon Gomorrah, brimstone and fire from the Lord out of 
heaven." "Even thus," my brethren, "shall it be in 
the day when the Son of man is revealed."* 

In the passage I have chosen for our present con- 
sideration, another emblem is employed ; an illustration 
which, if possible, ought, from its being so frequently 
repeated, to strike us still more forcibly. It is re- 
corded, by the Evangelists, St. Matthew and St. Luke,t 
as used by the Saviour upon two different occasions, " If 
the goodman of the house had known what hour the 
thief would come, he would have watched, and not have 
suffered his house to be broken through." St. Paul, too, 
in his first Epistle to the ThessaloniaDS, writes thus : 
" Yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so 
cometh as a thief in the night.'" St. Peter, also, in his 
Second General Epistle declares, that " the day of the 
Lord will come as a thief in the night ; in the which the 
heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the 
elements shall melt with fervent heat." And we read, 
in the admonition of our Lord to the angel of the Church 
in Sardis, " Remember therefore how thou hast received 
and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou 

* Luke xvii. 30. f Matt xxiv. 43. Luke xii. 39. 



IN PROSPECT OF THE LORD'S COMING. 355 

shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou 
shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee." When 
this remarkable similitude occurs in our text, it is with 
this additional emphasis, that the whole sentence hursts 
upon us with the suddenness of the midnight robber. 
To this point I have already directed your attention. 
This emphatic warning occurs, you perceive, in the midst 
of the description given by St. John of the pouring out 
of the sixth vial of the wrath of God. At the moment 
when " the kings of the earth and of the whole world " 
are being gathered together by "the spirits of devils 
working miracles," "to the battle of the great day of 
God Almighty," a cry is suddenly heard, like the voice 
of a trumpet, from the Bridegroom of the Church, 
" Behold, I come as a thief." This call to His pro- 
fessing followers comes as unexpectedly as the entrance 
of a thief into the peaceful dwelling of a slumbering 
householder. 

It is by these repeated declarations, and by these 
striking emblems, that the suddenness of the advent of 
our blessed Lord is declared. Oh ! that the Holy Spirit, 
of his infinite mercy and goodness, would deeply impress 
our minds with this important truth ; so that, instead of 
being like those to whom the Lord shall come unawares, 
we may be of that happy number who are making ready 
for his appearing, and who, when He does come, shall be 
able to Say, " Lo, this is our God ; we have waited for 
him, and He will save us : this is the Lord ; we have 
waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in His 
salvation." 

II. Let us now attend to the counsel given by our Lord in 

A A 2 



356 



DUTY OF PRAYBB AND WATCHFULNESS 



connexion with the sudden announcement of his coming : 
Blessed is he that icatcheth and keepeth his garments. 

The first part of the description here presented, 
Blessed is he that icatcheth, fully accords with the 
counsel which our Lord had previously given to his dis- 
ciples in his remarkable prophecy delivered upon the 
Mount of Olives : " Watch ye therefore : for ye know 
not when the master of the house corneth, at even, or at 
midnight, or at the cock-crowing, or in the morning : lest 
coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. And what I say 
unto you, I say unto all, Watch." * 

The same counsel is given by the apostles of our Lord, 
St. Peter and St. Paul : " The end of all things is at 
hand : be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. " f 
" Ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should 
overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, 
and the children of the day : we are not of the night, 
nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others ; 
but let as watch and be sober." t The word sober not 
only includes such a temperance in diet that the body be 
not overcharged with surfeiting or excess of wine, but it 
more especially refers to sobriety of mind ; or to that 
temperament which preserves its possessor from worldly 
care and anxietv, from that eao-er desire for earthlv 
objects which acts like an intoxicating potion. Against 
this the Lord would caution his followers. As He grants, 
so he directs them to seek after "the Spirit of power, 
and of love, and of a souud mind;" a discreet and 
chastened judgment, not elevated by temporary success, 

* Mark xiii. 35 — 37. See also Matt. xxiv. 42 ; and xxv. 13. 
Luke xxi. 36. 

f 1 Pet. iv. 7. X 1 Thess. v. 4—6. 



IN PROSPECT OF THE LORD'S COMING. 357 

or cast down by unforeseen difficulties ; but a spirit kept 
in a state, quick to apprehend, and prompt to execute, 
whatever may be required in the service of the Lord. 

That the mind should be so disciplined is of great 
moment ; for it is not a sudden flash of ardour, or a 
hasty ebullition of fiery zeal that will suffice. A Chris- 
tian soldier has counted the cost in the retirement of his 
closet. There he makes his calculation ; and there he 
deliberately reckons 6 6 all things but dross, for the excel- 
lency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus his Lord." He 
is not surprised by difficulties, or turned aside by tempo- 
rary reverses. He pursues his steady course, following 
the great Captain of his salvation " through evil report 
and good report." He does not imagine the sky will be 
always clear, but, like an experienced mariner, without 
foreboding evil, he provides for future storms. 

This sobriety is the more requisite at the present time 
for the faithful followers of Christ to obviate the preju- 
dice which is sometimes entertained against those who 
obey the command of the inspired apostle, to " take 
heed to the more sure word of prophecy, as unto a light 
that shineth in a dark place." While these prejudices 
have, to a certain extent, been promoted by the crude, 
fanciful, and visionary interpretations of some rash expo- 
sitors of this mysterious book, it should ever be borne in 
mind, that among the students of prophecy have been 
found the most wise and the most holy of the servants of 
the Lord. It was the prophet Daniel, the prime minister 
of the monarch of Babylon, a counsellor whom his royal 
master " in all matters of wisdom and understanding- 
found ten times better than all the magicians and astro- 
logers that were in all his realm ;" — it was this wise 



358 DUTY OF PRAYER AND WATCHFULNESS 

man, a man of prayer, one " greatly beloved" of the 
Lord, who, by his diligent study of the prophetic books, 
understood the time when the Lord would deliver his 
people from captivity ; and who, as a true patriot, set 
himself to prayer for this desirable object. In this study 
others, also, of the eminent servants of the Lord, both 
under the Old and the New Testament dispensations, 
have been deeply engaged. The inspired prophets of the 
olden time, not satisfied with delivering the heavenly 
oracles to the Jewish people, " inquired and searched 
diligently what or what manner of time the Spirit of 
Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified 
beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glory which 
should follow." 

Of these things I remind you, my beloved friends, lest 
any individual present should entertain the feeling to 
which I have referred. Let such an one be assured, 
that, when this study is pursued, as it was by the prophet 
Daniel, with earnest prayer to God for Divine teaching — - 
and this, my beloved brethren, is the mode we would 
most strongly recommend — there is not any employment 
which has a greater tendency to enlarge the mind, to 
humble the spirit, to sanctify the affections, and to elevate 
the soul, than the careful study of the writings of the 
inspired prophets. These portions of Holy Writ are 
among the most choice gifts of God to His most honoured 
servants, bestowed when they enjoyed the most intimate 
communion and fellowship with the Lord.* 

Be sober, then, my beloved brethren ; let your spirit 
and conversation be such as to manifest that your high 
esteem for the prophetic Scriptures has not arisen from a 

*See Dan. ix. 20, &c; Jer. xxxii. 16 to the end; Kev. i. 10. 



IN PROSPECT OF THE LORD'S COMING. 359 



momentary impression, out is the result of a diligent study 
of the oracles of God, with earnest prayer for Divine in- 
struction. 

I pass on, however, to the express language of our 
text — " Blessed is he that watcheth." This admonition 
extends beyond sobriety of mind ; the latter referring to 
the inward frame, the former to the outward conduct. Be 
vigilant. Stand upon your watch-tower. Mark the 
movements of the enemy. Think not you are safe because 
you have obtained partial success, nor vainly imagine 
that, having passed the day securely, the night will not 
have its dangers. ' ' Let your loins be girded about, and 
your lights burning ; and ye yourselves like unto men 
that wait for their lord when he shall return from the 
wedding, that when he cometh and knocketh they may 
open to him immediately." 

This vigilant spirit, in regard to the coming of our 
Lord, implies the expectation of this great event. For 
men are not set to look for the arrival of a person who is 
not expected ; nor do we watch for the coming of a friend, 
when no intimation has been given concerning his approach. 
Here, therefore, it is understood, that from the study of 
the sacred Scriptures, and from an assured faith in their 
truth as the Word of God, an expectation is wrought in 
the mind that this event will undoubtedly happen ; that 
" he that shall come will come, and will not tarry and, 
that " unto them that look for Him shall He appear the 
second time without sin unto salvation." 

There is also implied a consciousness of the uncer- 
tainty of the hour in which this event may happen. 
Although esteem for a friend we love may, long before the 
time, beget an earnest desire for his arrival, it is not 



360 



DUTY OF PRAYER AND WATCHFULNESS 



until near the day he has fixed for coming that we expect 
his approach. When, therefore, it is said, " Blessed is 
he that watcheth," it implies a consciousness of uncer- 
tainty as to the time when the event shall come to pass. 
He may come in the first, or the second, or the third 
watch. He hath not so precisely fixed the very time that 
we can say at what moment He will arrive. It may be 
" at even, or at midnight, or at the cock-crowing, or in 
the morning." I must, therefore, be watching ; for I 
cannot say when it will be. 

An earnest longing for His appearance is also implied ; 
so that in the anticipation of His coming we are led to 
watch the movements of His Providence, and feel the 
time to be long while He is absent. The believer will 
say, " Why is His chariot so long in coming ? Why 
tarry the wheels of His chariot?" Or he will partake 
of the spirit of David, when he said, " My soul waiteth 
for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning : 
I say more than they that watch for the morning." 
Until the Lord shall appear it is night time with the 
Church : and she longs for the day ; she watches for the 
streaks of the early dawn, and is ready to hail with 
gladness the first tokens of the coming of her Lord. As 
when some very dear friend is expected the eye almost 
involuntarily turns, when the horn' of his arrival draws 
near, toward the quarter from whence it is believed he 
will come, so he who watches is longing for the advent of 
his Lord. " He loves His appearing." He says from his 
inmost soul, " Come quickly. Even so, come, Lord 
Jesus." Such, beloved friends, will be the state of mind 
of one who partakes of this blessed character. Oh ! that 
this may be the spirit in which every one now present 



IN PROSPECT OF THE LORD^S COMING. 361 

may be " looking for and hasting unto the coming of 
the day of God." 

All that I have stated is implied in the expression, 
" Blessed is he that watcheth." But it is not the whole. 
The counsel given by our Lord, like an order from a 
great military commander, is short, but most expressive. 
A single word, " Watch /" but this one term contains a 
volume. For it includes not only this diligent preparation 
for His coming, but a spirit of constant vigilance. That 
we watch the providences of God, so as to meet the Lord 
in His ways ; that we watch the first risings of sin in the 
heart, so as to check it in the very germ ; that we watch 
against whatever may " grieve the Holy Spirit ;" since it is 
by His active grace, that the spiritual life is begun, main- 
tained, and advanced; and that we watch, in a very 
special manner, against the dangers with which the 
Church of Christ is encompassed. And who, my beloved 
friends, can measure the extent of these dangers in these 
6 4 perilous times ?" 

To mention only a very few of them. The danger, for 
instance, of self-deception. At all times we are exposed 
to this from the deceitful workings of the human heart. 
In the present day, however, there is a peculiar liability 
for persons to be deceived. The prejudices against the 
preaching of the Gospel, which existed some few years 
since, are, with regard at least to its general statements, 
much lessened. The spread of Divine truth among the 
higher and middle classes, has given a greater respect- 
ability to an open profession of religion. The numerous 
Societies, also, having a religious object in view, but not 
requiring any qualification in their members beside an 
annual subscription, have a tendency to promote this self- 



362 



DUTY OF PRAYER AND WATCHFULNESS 



deception. A person constantly hearing the truths of the 
Gospel, attending the meetings of religious Institutions, 
mixing -with sincere Christians, to whose society he 
becomes attached from their mild and gentle manners, and 
engaging with them in their benevolent objects, will fre- 
quently entertain a certain self- approbation, which is quite 
consistent with the feelings of the natural man, but which the 
individual himself may mistake for true spirituality of 
mind. As, therefore, scarcely anything in the present 
day is more easy than to make a profession of religion, 
so few things are more easy than to be deceived by such a 
profession. It should, therefore, be strongly borne in 
mind, that conversion is not a mere outward act ; it is an 
inward change of the soul. The thoughts and desires, 
the hopes and fears, the pleasures and sorrows, of a con- 
verted man are all changed. Let each, then, ask himself, 
in what period of his course a change like this has taken 
place. For, excepting those who have received the grace 
of God in their very tender years, all who have lived 
according to the general course of the world will be able 
to trace a season, more or less distinctly marked, when 
such a change occurred. They will recollect, for in- 
stance, that at such a time they entered into their closets, 
and, with an earnestness they had never felt before, 
prayed to the Lord to forgive their sins, to enlighten their 
understandings, to give them a new heart, and to impart 
therewith strength to run in the ways of His command- 
ments. 

Another danger to which the hearers of the Gospel are 
exposed in the present day is, a departure "from the 
simplicity that is in Christ," or from the plain simple 
truth as it is in Jesus. 



IN PROSPECT OF THE LORD'S COMING. 363 

We find, that very early in the Christian Church there 
were these departures from the faith. We perceive either 
a Judaizing spirit, requiring the Gentiles to observe the 
Mosaical ceremonies ; or a philosophizing spirit, cor- 
rupting the truth with the false wisdom of men ; or a 
sectarian spirit, rending asunder the bond of peace under 
different leaders. To departures like these we are 
especially exposed in the present day. We need, there- 
fore, to be reminded, of the solemn words addressed by 
St. Paul to the Churches in Galatia, " Though we, or an 
angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you 
than that which we have preached unto you, let him be 
accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any 
man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have 
received, let him be accursed." The revelation that God 
has made to man comprises the strongest arguments and 
the most powerful motives that can be devised. And it 
is well deserving remark, that, in examining the addresses 
delivered by St. Paul to persons of very different stations 
in life and of various dispositions, name]y, the prejudiced 
Jews, the polite Athenians, the luxuriant inhabitants of 
Ephesus, and the superstitious Lycaonians, we find, that, 
although the introductory parts of his discourses vary, 
the conclusion of all is the same. He calls all to repent- 
ance. He preaches the Lord Jesus Christ once cruci- 
fied, but now risen from the dead, and exalted to the 
right hand of God, as the only ground of salvation, the 
only Mediator between God and man, the only source of 
inward sanctification, the only Hope of everlasting life. 

The spirit of the age, my beloved friends, and the 
prevalence of false teachers, expose us in a peculiar 
manner to the danger of departing from this primitive 



364 



DUTY OF PRAYER AND WATCHFULNESS 



simplicity. It would, however, occupy too much of your 
time further to dwell upou these distressing errors. 
Enough has heen said to show the need we have to watch. 
I only add, therefore, what is especially included in the 
counsel of our Lord, the watching unto prayer. With- 
out this accompaniment our vigilance would he like that 
of an infant watching the inroads of an army. We find 
these graces constantly united. Our Lord said to his 
disciples, 4 6 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into 
temptation ; " and again, " Watch ye therefore, and 
pray alway, that ye may he accounted worthy to escape 
all these things which shall come to pass, and to stand 
"before the Son of man." It was the neglect of this all- 
important charge which led Peter to deny his Lord, and 
the other disciples to flee from him. It well demands our 
notice, that, in the night in which our Lord was betrayed, 
although the disciples enjoyed such privileges as none but 
themselves ever possessed ; though they conversed with 
our Lord as with a friend; though they received the 
Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, administered to them 
by the Saviour Himself ; though they united with Him 
when He offered up His most beautiful intercessory 
prayer, yet still forgetting His word, " Watch and pray, 
that ye enter not into temptation," during that very night, 
they all fell into sin : they either denied their Lord or 
forsook Him. 

It would be difficult for us to set too high an estimate 
upon prayer. It is the great moral means that God, in 
His wisdom and goodness, has provided for imparting 
blessings to his people. It is their distinguishing grace. 
W T e read, " Shall not God avenge his own elect, which 
cry day and night unto Him ? " It gives to them the 



IN PROSPECT OF THE LORD'S COMING. 365 



strength of Omnipotence ; for it contains a force which, 
if we may use the expression, the Almighty Himself can- 
not resist. These were His words to His servant Moses, 
" I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiff '-necked 
people : now therefore let me alone, that my wrath 
may wax hot against them, and that I may consume 
them."* " Let me alone," as if, had Moses continued in 
fervent supplication, he would have exercised a power 
which the Lord could not withstand. 

How encouraging an example of the blessing of a 
prayerful spirit does the history of the Prophet Daniel 
afford ! " At the beginning of thy supplications the 
commandment came forth, and I am come to show thee ; 
for thou art greatly beloved.'" t Not only was his 
prayer for the deliverance of his people answered, hut far 
more was granted to him than he had asked. The period 
was revealed to him at which Messiah was to come " to 
finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and 
to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in ever- 
lasting righteousness." Time would fail me to describe 
the blessedness of prayer. It, more than anything else, 
brings man to his becoming posture as a poor, weak, 
needy, helpless sinner. Prayer, at the same time, 
especially honours God ; for it manifests His omnipotence, 
His providential care, His beneficent goodness, and over- 
flowing bounty ; His tender sympathy and parental com- 
passion. Prayer, we may also add, especially glorifies the 
Lord Jesus Christ ; for it is through Him alone that our 
petitions find access to God. It is the merit of His one 
offering, the sweet savour of His intercession, the love 
His Father bears unto Him, and His hearing Him at 
all times, which cause our broken supplications to be 

* Exodus xxxii. 9, 10. f Daniel ix. 23. 



366 DUTY OF PRAYER AND WATCHFULNESS 

accepted. Yes, it is because " we have an advocate with 
the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous,"' that we have 
boldness in drawing; nio-h to the throne of ©race ; for we 
are assured, that through Him we shall " obtain mercy, 
and find grace to help us in every time of need." 

Oh, that the Lord would grant to us, my beloved 
friends, "the Spirit of grace and of supplications," so as 
to make prayer our delight, and communion with Him our 
sweet employment, counting the moments we spend with 
our God the most choice and the most blessed of our lives. 

III. I must pass on to the latter part of the counsel, 
" Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his gar- 
ments." 

This expression is considered to have an allusion to the 
service of the temple. It was customary for the Levites, 
during the night, to guard the different entrances of the 
temple ; and for this purpose, twenty-four wards, or com- 
panies, were set. To see that they properly performed 
the service, one was appointed as the provost, called the 
man of the mountain of the house of God. He went 
round about unto every ward, during the night, with 
torches burning before him ; and every warder that did 
not say, " Thou man of the mountain of the house, peace 
be unto thee," it was known that he was asleep, and he 
did beat him with his staff, and burn his garment. So 
that sometimes they said in Jerusalem, " What noise is 
in the court ? " and they answered, "It is the cry of a 
Levite who is beaten, and has had his garments burnt, 
because he slept at his watch."* We may easily con- 
ceive with what shame he would appear when morning 
came. He would be seen with his garments burnt, 
* See the works of Lightfoot, vol. i. p. 919. 



IN PROSPECT OF THE LORD'S COMING. 367 

and the skirts stripped off, so that all who beheld him 
would know that he had neglected his duty, and slept at 
his post. In contrast to these slumbering Levites, our 
Lord pronounces a blessing upon those who, like the 
watchful warders, kept their garments. 

The emblem is one of great force in its application to 
the garments of salvation. These consist, first, of the 
robe of righteousness which the Saviour has wrought out 
for our justification before God, by his obedience unto 
death ; a garment which is freely bestowed upon all who 
believe in His name. The other, the robe of sanctifi- 
cation ; the garment of an inward purification of the soul, 
and of that holy conversation before men which becometh 
the Gospel. The one robe is that which is made white 
by the blood of the Lamb ; the other is that which is 
adorned with the graces of the Holy Spirit. 

By keeping these garments, we may understand pre- 
serving them in their purity, according to the charge 
given to the angel of the Church of Sardis, " Thou hast 
a few names, which have not defiled their garments, and 
they shall walk with me in white ;" or, as this emblem 
is employed by St. Jude, " Others save with fear, pulling 
them out of the fire, hating even the garment spotted by 
the flesh." Keeping the garments, therefore, includes in 
it a continual application to the precious blood of Christ, 
and to the sanctifying energy of the Holy Spirit. It 
implies, also, a wariness in avoiding the defilements of 
sin ; diligence in improving the means of grace ; and 
carefulness in walking with God. As well might any 
one suppose he could walk through the streets of this 
metropolis in the winter season and keep every part of 
his dress free from spots, as the Christian imagine he 



368 DUTY OF PRAYER AND WATCHFULNESS 



could mix unreservedly in the prevailing course of this 
world, and keep his garments white. He considers, 
therefore, if we may so speak, that he is attired in his 
court-dress ; that he is wearing the rohes in which he is 
to appear "before the King ; and, therefore, he walks 
circumspectly. He carefully shuns whatever is of a 
polluting nature ; and while he trusts altogether in the 
merit of the atoning Mood and perfect righteousness of 
his Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, he remembers that 
it is written, " Pure religion and undefiled before God 
and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widoius 
in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from 
the world." 

All this, my Christian friends, is included in watching 
and keeping the garments ; and blessed, yea, truly 
blessed, is that believer who is thus waiting for his Lord. 
So our text declares, " Blessed is he that icatcheth, and 
keepeth his garments ;" for he is delivered from those 
fears and anxieties which often fill the minds of the 
worldly ; sources of distress, which will more and more 
increase as the coming of our Lord draweth nigh. For, 
while men who have cast off all restraint may " have 
their consciences seared as with a hot iron," so that, like 
the unjust judge, they " fear not God, nor regard man," 
those who attend the services of the Church, who occa- 
sionally read the Holy Bible, and who meet from time to 
time with truly consistent Christians, cannot but have 
inward misgivings. They will say to themselves at times, 
How will it be with me when He who once appeared in 
our nature and tabernacled on earth, shall come again as 
He hath promised, "to be glorified in his saints," and, 
" to take vengeance on them that know not God, and 



IN PROSPECT OF THE LORD'S COMING. 369 

obey not the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ?" How- 
can I meet Him ? My principles and my conduct pro- 
claim, that I am not among His friends. It must, there- 
fore, he a dreadful meeting to me. These thoughts 
oppress the mind, and produce much inward distress. 
It is not very long since a nobleman of high rank, sur- 
rounded by apparent gaiety and external splendour, took 
the opportunity of a momentary absence of his usual 
acquaintances to confess to a casual godly visitor, " I 
have the forebodings of death upon me, and I am, at 
this moment, miserable beyond expression. Can you 
tell me how to obtain any consolation ?" 

From these agitating fears, those who are watching 
for the coming of their Lord, and keeping their garments, 
are graciously delivered. For why should they fear ? 
Have they not fled for refuge to their coming Saviour ? 
Is He not their Friend and their Redeemer ? Has He 
not engaged never to leave them nor forsake them ? And 
hath he not promised, that they shall ' ' sit with Him 
upon His throne, even as He is set down with His Father 
in His throne ?" 

This, however, is only a part of the blessedness of the 
true followers of our Lord. They have the delightful 
anticipation of the "glory to be revealed" frequently 
presented to their minds. For, if he who is watching 
for the arrival of a friend, not only looks toward the 
place -from whence he is coming, but refreshes his spirit 
with thoughts of the pleasure of the meeting, of the sight 
of his friend, of the joy of his countenance, of the sweet 
communion and fellowship to be possessed in his society ; 
so it is with those who are waiting for the coming of 
their Lord. They are often meditating upon the blessed- 

B B 



370 DUTY OF PRAYER AND "WATCHFULNESS 



ness of that day. They frequently revolve in their minds 
such declarations as these : 44 When Christ, who is our 
life, shall appear, then shall we also appear with Him 
in glory :" and again, " It doth not yet appear what we 
shall be ; but we know that, when He shall appear, we 
shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is." 
We shall he like Him in our outward frames ; for He 
" will change our vile hody, that it may he fashioned like 
unto His glorious hody." We shall be like Him, also, 
in the inner man, heing entirely conformed to His image, 
in knowledge and righteousness and true holiness ; loving 
God with our whole souls, and delighting in Him as our 
God ; yea, our Father and our Friend for ever and ever. 

Thus, ere the hlessed day actually comes, a true 
Christian hath a foretaste of its joy : 44 for as he thinketh 
in his heart, so is he." To him, therefore, the sweet 
promise is, in a measure, fulfilled, that his days shall he 
' 4 as the days of Heaven upon earth." Filled with 
hright hope, his joyful soul speeds on its heavenly way ; 
and while the Redeemer sitteth upon His throne, expect- 
ing till all His enemies he made His footstool, he longs 
to see Him, and he with Him for evermore. 

Hence it is, my heloved friends, that you will generally 
see those Christians who are most watchful, and most 
prayerful, and whose eyes are most frequently directed 
toward their home, men of cheerful spirits. For they 
know by experience the truth of the Word, 44 Happy are 
the people that are in such a case ; yea, blessed are the 
people who have the Lord for their God.' 1 

Permit me, then, in conclusion, especially to recom- 
mend the established believer deeply to ponder and to 



m PROSPECT OF THE LORD'S COMING. 



371 



pray over the words of the text. Far be it from me 
to wish to occupy your thoughts with vain or fanciful 
speculations ; hut I would earnestly entreat you to he of 
that blessed company who are " watching, and keeping 
their garments." I desire it for your own present hap- 
piness, being convinced that there is an indescribable 
force in that word in the text, " Blessed." Watchfulness 
is the very state in which the true followers of our Lord 
have been, when they have enjoyed most of the consola- 
tions of the Holy Spirit. Thus favoured, they feel they 
require but one thing, the presence of their Lord. The 
frowns of the world distress them not ; for the coming of 
the Lord draweth nigh. The cares of the world disturb 
them not ; for He who is coming to put an end to every 
care hath said, " Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and 
His righteousness ; and all these things shall be added 
unto you." The pleasures of the world tempt them not ; 
for, " in thy presence is fulness of joy ; and at thy right 
hand there are pleasures for evermore." Oh! then, my 
beloved Christian brethren, as the early believers were 
those who had their conversation in Heaven, who were 
"looking for the coming,"* "praying for the coming,"! 
"hoping for the coming, "J "waiting for the coming, "§ 
of the Lord Jesus ; so, in these latter days, let it be 
your care especially to take heed to His warning, " Be- 
hold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, 
and keepeth his garments." 

That this may become, more and more, the habit of 
your mind, let me recommend to you a sober study of the 
Word of God. I say sober, meaning by this, that we 

* Titus ii. 13. f Rev - xxii - 20 - t 1 J °hn iii. 1—3. 
§ 1 Thess. i. 10. 



372 



DUTY OF PRATER AND WATCHFULNESS 



should take His Word in its proper character, as that 
Book which can alone guide our feet into the way of 
peace. Oh, my friends, how ought we to value the Bible 
in the present day ! It is the only volume which can 
impart true wisdom to the mind, and real consolation to 
the heart. Sometimes we are asked, what hook we would 
recommend an inquirer after truth to peruse. We answer, 
The Bible. Read more of The Word of God, and 
less of the word of man. Read the Bible, soberly, con- 
stantly, patiently, diligently. Read the Bible with 
earnest prayer for Divine teaching. Read it as that Book 
of which our Saviour saith, " The icord that I have 
spoken, the same shall judge you at the last day." The 
more attentively it is thus perused, the more will its 
matchless excellence he seen. 

What adoring wonder should this blessed book inspire ! 
In the prophecies of Daniel, we have a scheme unfolded, 
which has already embraced a period of above three thou- 
sand seven hundred years, including in it the great empires 
of the world. It takes in shorter and more lengthened 
periods ; some already fulfilled, and others which appear on 
the eve of accomplishment. When the mind traces the 
different links of this vast chain, and beholds them all 
interwoven with one glorious purpose, surely we must 
admire the wisdom, the power, the goodness, and the faith- 
fulness of God. The soul rises with the smwey, and is 
ready to exclaim, How happy is that man whose faith is 
built on so sure a rock ! Again, therefore, would I re- 
commend a sober study of the Word of God, and with it 
a sober attention to passing events : not yielding to ardent 
feelings, or to the hasty conclusions of a lively imagina- 
tion ; nor construing trivial occurrences as the direct 



IN PROSPECT OF THE LORD'S COMING. 



373 



fulfilment of the prophecies regarding the latter days ; 
hut coolly and deliberately to exercise a prayerful judg- 
ment upon the events the Providence of God brings before 
us. To be like the Prophet Habakkuk, who said, " I 
will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, 
and will watch to see what He will say unto me, and what 
I shall answer when I am reproved." 

How delightful it is, my beloved friends, to refresh our 
spirits by reflecting upon the perfect confidence and quiet 
composure of mind with which the true Christian may 
watch the steps of the Great Ruler of the universe. All 
the events set forth in prophecy are ordered to promote 
the advancement of the kingdom of God, and the final 
happiness of His people, At the coming of the Son of man, 
there will, indeed, " be signs in the sun, and in the moon, 
and in the stars ; and upon the earth distress of nations, 
with perplexity ; the sea and the waves roaring, men's 
hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those 
things which are coming on the earth." But this awful 
period is the season concerning which our Lord hath said, 
" When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, 
and lift up your heads ; for your redemption draweth 
nigh." The very events which will bring dismay to the 
hearts of scoffers and Infidels, and mere time-serving pro- 
fessors, are the occurrences which will bring joy and 
gladness to the faithful followers of our Lord. 

Yes, my beloved Christian friends, we have no cause 
for fear ; for ' ' greater is He that is for us, than they 
that are against us. Our Redeemer is mighty ; the 
Lord of Hosts is His name." He is "King of kings, 
and Lord of lords." And " He must reign till He 
hath put all enemies under His feet. ' ' 



374 



DUTY OF PRAYER AND WATCHFULNESS 



Let me, further, with the authority of a father, and the 
affection of a friend, the desire of whose heart is jour 
salvation, who would not see one individual in this large 
assembly in danger, without stretching out his hand, if 
possible, to rescue him, — Let me, I say, should there be 
any present who have not yet sincerely cast themselves 
at the feet of our Lord, now persuade you to flee for refuge 
to the hope set before you in the Gospel. It is not yet 
too late ; but still the Lord waiteth to be gracious. His 
Word still is, " Whosoever will, let him take the water 
of life freely.'" Oh, then, " Seek the Lord while He may 
be found ; call upon Him while He is near." 

To all present I would say, View this Course of 
Lectures in their proper light ; as a response from the 
servants of the Lord on earth, to the awakening warning 
which He is at this time giving by His Word, by His 
Spirit, and by his Providence, from Heaven : " Behold, 
I come as a thief Blessed is he that watcheth, and 
Jceepeth his garments." Oh ! that the Lord may thus in- 
cline every heart ! May there not be an individual present 
hardy enough to neglect the warning ; but touched in his 
inmost soul by the love of Christ in sending the message, 
animated by the hope that it has not come too late, and 
earnestly desiring to partake of the blessings the saints 
will enjoy in that great day, may each for himself say, 
" Remember me, 0 Lord, with the favour that thou bearest 
unto thy people : 0 visit me with thy salvation /" Yea, 
not me only, but every individual now in the house 
of God. Oh ! may we all see the good of thy chosen, 
rejoice in the gladness of thy nation, and glory with thine 
inheritance." 



IN PROSPECT OF THE LORD'S COMING. 375 



Nor can I conclude without offering up a fervent prayer, 
in which I entreat all present to unite, that the ' 6 God of 
all grace" may, for the sake of His dear Son, follow this 
Course of Lectures with His special blessing, and vouch- 
safe to His servant, in whose Church they have been 
delivered, the rich abundance of His grace. May " the 
Lord grant unto him," not only that he may find mercy 
of the Lord in that day," but be honoured to appear before 
Him with many, yea, very many of his parishioners, as 
his " crown of rejoicing in the presence of our Lord Jesus 
Christ at His coming." 

4 6 Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, 
and to present you faultless before the presence of His 
glory with exceeding joy: To the only wise God our 
Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both 
now and ever. Amen." 



FINIS. 



Macintosh, Printer, Great New Street, London. 



BOOKS PUBLISHED BY 

JAMES NISBET AND CO. 



ISRAEL RESTORED ; or, the Scriptural Claims of 
the Jews upon the Church of Christ ; TWELVE LECTURES 
by Clergymen of the Church of England. 12mo. 7s. cloth. 

THE RESTITUTION of all THINGS. By the 
Rev. W. W. Pym, M.A. 12mo. 5s. cloth. 

By the same Author, 

WHAT WILL THIS BABBLER SAY ? 12mo. Is. 

A WORD OF WARNING in the LAST DAYS. Fourth 
Edition. 12mo. 2s. 

THOUGHTS ON MILLENARIANISM. Fourth Edition. 
12mo. Is. 6c?. 

An HISTORICAL EXPOSITION of the PRO- 
PHECIES of the REVELATION of ST. JOHN. By Mat- 
thew Habershon. Second Edition. Two vols., post 8vo. 
Also, by the same Author, 

An HISTORICAL DISSERTATION on the PRO- 
PHETIC SCRIPTURES of the OLD TESTAMENT, chiefly 
those of a chronological character ; showing their aspect on the 
present times, and on the destinies of the Jewish nation. Second 
Edition. Post 8vo. 10s. cloth. 

The HOPE of ISRAEL; A course of Advent 
Sermons, of Four Prophecies, concerning the Mission of Elijah, 
the Conversion of Israel, the Fall of Antichrist, and the Reign 
of Messiah. By the Rev. Henry Girdlestone, Rector of 
Landford, Wilts. 12 mo. 4s. cloth. 

TWO ESSAYS: The Holy Catholic Church— The 
Millennial Church. By the Rev. J. L. Jackson, M.A. Third 
Edition. 3s. cloth. 

LOOK TO JERUSALEM : a Scriptural View of 
the Position of the Jews, in the Great Crisis of the World's 
History. By the Rev. Alexander Dallas, A.M. Third 
Edition. 2s. 6c?. cloth. 

The PROPHECY UPON THE MOUNT. A Prac- 
tical consideration of OUR LORD'S STATEMENT respecting 
the Destruction of Jerusalem, His Own Appearing, and the End 
of the Age. By the Rev. A. Dallas, M.A. 12mo. 3s. cloth. 

SERMON on the FIRST RESURRECTION. By 
a Spiritual Watchman. Third Edition. Is. 

The PRE-MILLENNIAL PERSONAL ADVENT 
of CHRIST. By a Spiritual Watchman. Second Edition. 2s. 

THOUGHTS on the SCRIPTURAL EXPECTA- 
TIONS of the CHRISTIAN CHURCH. By Basilicus. 
Fourth Edition. 12mo. jjjs. 6c?. j- ^ g <g ' 




Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: August 2005 



<f 0 o - • m ' # * ' D * PreservationTechnologies 

► m _f^v m f ^ a iiiAni n ■ cAnco iu DADCD D D C C C OVATION 




A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 

1 1 1 Thomson Park Drive 
Cranberry Township, PA 16066 
(724)779-2111 



